Supposedly Catalyst has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (The one where they failed as a company and cease to exist, as I recall.)
Who do you think should/could get the Shadowrun rights?
The Battletech rights?
Legally they both default to FASA control but since FASA doesn't exist as a company anymore...
Creative Director
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Having spent some time this evening discussing some of my favorite cartoons of the 80's and 90's, I'm curious.
What are your favorite cartoons from the 80's?
90's?Also, and corollary to the above, why can't Steven Spielberg quit making crappy movies and go back to making/producing great cartoons?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Favorite cartoon from the 80s: Dungeons & Dragons
Favorite cartoon from the 90s: The SimpsonsAnd although you didn't ask: My current favorite cartoon = Archer.
And I actually quite disagree about Spielberg's movies being crappy. With the exception of the very disappointing fourth Indiana Jones movie, I've pretty much loved all of his movies for the past 15 or so years. And as for producing great stuff... I suspect that this year's "Super 8" is gonna be one of the best movies of the year, and "Falling Skies" is looking like it's gonna be really cool too.
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Creative Director
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Supposedly Catalyst has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. (The one where they failed as a company and cease to exist, as I recall.)
Who do you think should/could get the Shadowrun rights?
The Battletech rights?
Legally they both default to FASA control but since FASA doesn't exist as a company anymore...
Zombie FASA!
Barring them... Fantasy Flight Games has some incredible stuff too. They'd kick ass with those properties.
But the best option? Bioware. But only if that didn't impact their production schedule for Mass Effect and Dragon Age games.
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Creative Director
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Why does Paizo Staff suffer 'Trolls' for so long? Why not warn them once and then ban? *sigh*
Because we prefer to err on the side of being non-reactionary. And because often banning a troll can rile them up worse than letting them vent and trail off.
There's certainly a few folks here I wouldn't mind banning, to tell the truth, but I'd rather let them sink their own ship.
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Creative Director
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(edited, tidied up)
The good news is, Cities of Golarion is finally (!) here!
However, I was browsing and ended up confused by a seeming contradiction in the Ilizmagorti entry... :(
...The Pagoda of the Mantis in Redshore, sacred to Achaekek, is the largest temple in the city, though entrance is forbidden to non-worshipers......The Pagoda of the Mantis: Located in Redshore, this site is sacred to Achaekek and the house of his worship. Technically anyone is allowed to enter, but rumor has it that the power of the temple instantly marks unbelievers, and the true faithful immediately murder those bearing the god's marker...One says entry is forbidden to non-worshipers, the other says entry isn't forbidden to unbelievers, but that there's a rumour that they may be bumped off for their presumption.
The Pagoda of the Mantis has open doors. Anyone can enter. But if you're not a worshiper, and the priests notice that, you get killed. That's more or less what it means that non-worshipers are forbidden from entering—not that you can't go in, just that if you do and you aren't a worshiper, you get killed. It's a pretty effective way to bar entry to the non-believers.
Killing a nonbeliever for entering the Pagoda is hardly murder. It's responsibility, and as such doesn't fall into the category of killing for payment at all. It's more akin to sweeping the floor of unwanted dust.
I've been working on my latest russian inpired PF steam-punk campaign (I know, specific, huh?) and have two excellent starting points which I'm having difficulty choosing between. Which sounds more exciting?
PC's trying to prevent the train they are on from wrecking when a recurring monster, the Zmaj (dragonlike creatures from Southern Slavic folklore) attacks and causes damage to the vehicle/tracks?
Or...
PC's trying to prevent the ship they are on from wrecking on a reef in magical-storm tossed waters?
The encounters would run rather similiar and having both would feel redundant as they facilitate the same purpose, so I'm having trouble deciding which would be best, considering there is already a player interested in playing a dwarven fighter/rogue with a giant wrench he uses as a greatclub (interesting in being a technician of sorts with lots of crafts, professions, and knowledges - which would be perfect for the train) and a another player interested in setting up her character as a seafaring ranger (perfect for the ship).
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Creative Director
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Which given that I imagine that Achaekek worshipers must come in a variety of shapes and disguises may pose quite a problem for the clerics if they don't have some sort of 'divine magical assistance'...
I like the sweeping the foor analogy though... :)
Actually, Achaekek's worshipers among the Red Mantis are pretty much exclusively humans, elves, and half-elves. Other worshipers are quite unusual.
And in any case, that's what the heathen-detectors in there are for!
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Creative Director
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I've removed several posts from the thread about folks getting worked up over on another thread. I'm not interested in seeing that spill over into this thread, so please don't keep posting about it here. If there IS a problem, I'll talk with Gary and folks to see if we can't get it solved, but in the meantime my suggestion for all parties concerned is to just knock it off. Be the bigger person, whatever side of the argument you might be on, and just walk away from the argument.
If you have actual personal concerns, don't hesitate to email me at james.jacobs@paizo.com.
But also keep in mind that this is a 3 day weekend, and that means not many folks are in the office until Tuesday. I only happened to be here looking at this thread while I was waiting for my Serpent's Skull game to start, and spending time moderating boards instead of running Pathfinder will only make me cranky.
ANYWAY.
Back to the normal questions!
This one of the longest threads I have seen...I have not read it all so hopefuly I am not asking anything already asked.
1)What kinda campaign do you perfer sandbox or linears(lots of mudules and the typical APs)?
2)How effect do the APs have on Golarion? Meaning are future products going to reflect these changes?
3)Is the starstone test to become a god going to be ever detailed...or atleast explored a little bit more?
4)Is the Sub orchid Elixir from Thuvia ever going to be detailed?
5) Is the new campaign book going to take into account the new APG classes and how they intract with the world? Is the witch class going to just tied to Irrisen or are they going to be mentioned outside of it?
6) Any spoilers about future products that you can tell us now?
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Creative Director
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I've been working on my latest russian inpired PF steam-punk campaign (I know, specific, huh?) and have two excellent starting points which I'm having difficulty choosing between. Which sounds more exciting?
PC's trying to prevent the train they are on from wrecking when a recurring monster, the Zmaj (dragonlike creatures from Southern Slavic folklore) attacks and causes damage to the vehicle/tracks?
Or...
PC's trying to prevent the ship they are on from wrecking on a reef in magical-storm tossed waters?
The encounters would run rather similiar and having both would feel redundant as they facilitate the same purpose, so I'm having trouble deciding which would be best, considering there is already a player interested in playing a dwarven fighter/rogue with a giant wrench he uses as a greatclub (interesting in being a technician of sorts with lots of crafts, professions, and knowledges - which would be perfect for the train) and a another player interested in setting up her character as a seafaring ranger (perfect for the ship).
If it's a steampunk setting... absolutely go with the train.
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Creative Director
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Are the influences in Katapesh more like those found in Osirian, Geb & Nex, or Qadira?
What are the ships like on the inner sea? Are they galleys or sailing type ships?
Edit: I'm fleshing out a back story for a buddy's LoF game.
Ummm... influences?
Katapesh is more like Qadira than it is Geb, Nex, or Osirion, if that's what you're asking. But a lot less aggressive and warlike than Qadira.
The ships in the Inner Sea run through all types; galleys AND sailing ships can be found there.
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Creative Director
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Looking through older issues of Dragon and Dungeon Magazine I found the Red Sails campaign. What is any region is the most like this setting in Golarion?
Remind me real quick what campaign "Red Sails" was? That was either before my time at Paizo, was mostly part of Dragon, or both, since I don't have a LOT of memories of it.
My guess is the Shackles though.
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Creative Director
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1)What kinda campaign do you perfer sandbox or linears(lots of mudules and the typical APs)?
2)How effect do the APs have on Golarion? Meaning are future products going to reflect these changes?
3)Is the starstone test to become a god going to be ever detailed...or atleast explored a little bit more?
4)Is the Sub orchid Elixir from Thuvia ever going to be detailed?
5) Is the new campaign book going to take into account the new APG classes and how they intract with the world? Is the witch class going to just tied to Irrisen or are they going to be mentioned outside of it?
6) Any spoilers about future products that you can tell us now?
1) I prefer campaigns with relatively focused storylines but with a lot of options IN those storylines. So, lots of linked sandboxes but with strong plotlines. The Adventure Paths pretty much sum up my preferred campaigns, to be honest.
2) As a general rule, we assume that ALL of the Adventure Paths are going to start "tomorrow." We've only done 1/6 of one product so far that makes an assumption that one adventure path has happened, and that was sort of an experiment. For the most part, we're presenting Golarion as it exists just before any of the APs or modules take place, and the actual order in which they occur depends on your campaign.
3) Until we nail down what happens to characters between hitting 20th level and becoming deities (aka: "Epic Levels") we're not going to be saying much more about the Starstone. If and when we DO do something with "epic level," though, something involving the Starstone suddenly becomes very, very compelling.
4) Yes. It was already detailed in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting hardcover. It's been revised and made a bit more clear as to what it is and can do in the upcoming "Inner Sea World Guide."
5) Yes. And in fact, we already DO have roles for most of the APG classes, even before we rebuilt Pathfinder in the first place. Witches have been a part of Irrisen from the start, for example, and we mention them as early as Pathifnder #1 with the entry on the Sandpoint devil, I believe. Crusaders have always been a big part of the Mendev crusade. Oracles are mentioned here and there, as have been inquisitors. And alchemists have pretty key roles in several nations... particularly in Thuvia, for the aforementioned Sun Orchid Elixir was invented by an alchemist. Summoners are the only class who didn't have a pre-defined role in the Inner Sea region, in fact. In any case, the upcoming Inner Sea World Guide talks about all of them, including the upcoming Magus. It doesn't talk about ninjas and samurais (they're from across the world), or about gunslingers (there's not a big enough presence of guns in the Inner Sea region to bother talking about gunslingers really).
6) Folks eager to see us start testing the waters with Numeria should check out "Dungeons of Golarion" once it comes out later in the Spring.
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Creative Director
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I've always enjoyed the idea of an Urban Sandbox to run as a homebrew campaign.
Which of the following Golarion cities (or cities dropped into Golarion) make for the best Urban Sandbox?
Korvosa?
Westcrown?
Riddleport?
Magnimar?
Cauldron?
Freeport?
Depends what you're looking for. I'd probably go with Riddleport, though.
Looking through older issues of Dragon and Dungeon Magazine I found the Red Sails campaign. What is any region is the most like this setting in Golarion?Remind me real quick what campaign "Red Sails" was? That was either before my time at Paizo, was mostly part of Dragon, or both, since I don't have a LOT of memories of it.
My guess is the Shackles though.
"Red Sails" was in Dragon #290 -- it was for a D&D campaign set in Medieval Russia. It was pretty good, I think. It definitely inspired me, but then, I like alternate Earth settings, and the bestiary was pretty cool, with Vilas, Rusalkas, etc.
To me, it pretty much is Iobaria, with a little Brevoy and Irrisen.
Hey thanks for answearing my questions Mr. Jacobs. Got another one
When you run PF which experience chart do you use?
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Looking through older issues of Dragon and Dungeon Magazine I found the Red Sails campaign. What is any region is the most like this setting in Golarion?Remind me real quick what campaign "Red Sails" was? That was either before my time at Paizo, was mostly part of Dragon, or both, since I don't have a LOT of memories of it.
My guess is the Shackles though.
Both Dragon and Dungeon had a bit with it in it. I think it might have been right before your time. Semi historical Russia/Slav/Finnish setting.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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This relates, in part, to the reference to "Red Sails", and in part to a PC I'm trying to develop.
When Soviet-style government systems have been mentioned in the past, the nation of Molthune is the Golarion location everybody seems to point to.
I've looked at Molthune as the background for one of my PCs, and I have to say that I just don't understand the place so far. They're gearing up for war against Nirmathas, and ...?
It just seems like a bland place for adventure. We know that the central leaders have a really big map of the surrounding countries on their table in their war room, but we don't have a feel for what adventuring life is like there.
That, and I just can't figure out what kind of conventions they have there for personal names. It's certainly not Eastern European (as the names are in Ustalav.)
So, any chances to still see a Swashbuckler base class? My personal feeling is that it isn't represented well enough in other classes or archetypes. The Duelist is fine and dandy, but is is only a PrC.
Dude! You sunk my battleship!
There's certainly a few folks here I wouldn't mind banning, to tell the truth, but I'd rather let them sink their own ship.
B-8.
It's 4am. Why am I still wide awake? Why is there a cat whining outside my door? It's not mine, the complex doesn't allow pets. Why aren't I curled up in my nice warm bed?
Why do I have a headache? Why aren't I tired? Why in hell am I thinking it'd be a good idea to see just how long I can stay awake? Is it a bad thing that I know the answer to that question is "at least five days easy"?
Will I regret this post after I force myself to get some sleep?
What should the General in my Kingmaker game name his twin children? It's been two sessions now and he still hasn't picked a name. (Though, to be fair, I'm not pushing him - hard to discuss baby naming when you're knee deep in trolls.)
So, suggestions for names? (One is a human girl, the other is a tiefling boy... long story on why there's a tiefling twin to a human girl, but it has to do with the cult of Gyronna event in that adventure.)
2) As a general rule, we assume that ALL of the Adventure Paths are going to start "tomorrow." We've only done 1/6 of one product so far that makes an assumption that one adventure path has happened, and that was sort of an experiment. For the most part, we're presenting Golarion as it exists just before any of the APs or modules take place, and the actual order in which they occur depends on your campaign.
I highly prize the "all APs start tomorrow" paradigm.
I often mention it to people when laying out the AP concept, and there is always a sigh of relief from them when they find out that they no longer have to "follow in the developers PCs footsteps." Can you tell we were a Forgotten Realms crew in 3e? Even if it isn't developer or fiction writer Mary Sues, my group finds that following in footsteps detracts severely from any setting.
When I opened Lost Cities, I was a little taken aback at the "1/6th" of that book, but I also came to terms with it. I think that, if you're going to do continuity materials, you should clearly demarcate it, as you did. Maybe even more clearly. As a GM for the AP in question, it was easier for me to just see this as a post-campaign resource.
Anyway, if you were ever wondering whether people cared if "all APs start tomorrow", there you have it. It's much more important to me than even I realized, and it makes it so much easier for people to commit to Golarion as a setting. I actually think you should sell it a bit more! I do.
Not a question, sorry.
2) As a general rule, we assume that ALL of the Adventure Paths are going to start "tomorrow." We've only done 1/6 of one product so far that makes an assumption that one adventure path has happened, and that was sort of an experiment. For the most part, we're presenting Golarion as it exists just before any of the APs or modules take place, and the actual order in which they occur depends on your campaign.I highly prize the "all APs start tomorrow" paradigm.
I often mention it to people when laying out the AP concept, and there is always a sigh of relief from them when they find out that they no longer have to "follow in the developers PCs footsteps." Can you tell we were a Forgotten Realms crew in 3e? Even if it isn't developer or fiction writer Mary Sues, my group finds that following in footsteps detracts severely from any setting.
When I opened Lost Cities, I was a little taken aback at the "1/6th" of that book, but I also came to terms with it. I think that, if you're going to do continuity materials, you should clearly demarcate it, as you did. Maybe even more clearly. As a GM for the AP in question, it was easier for me to just see this as a post-campaign resource.
Anyway, if you were ever wondering whether people cared if "all APs start tomorrow", there you have it. It's much more important to me than even I realized, and it makes it so much easier for people to commit to Golarion as a setting. I actually think you should sell it a bit more! I do.
Not a question, sorry.
+1
That is why I asked the question in the first place. Also coming from the FR and seeing the destruction cannon novels had on that setting as a RPG world...I had fears that the APs could have the same effect.
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On a scale of 1 (not creepy at all) to 10 (that's really frakked up), how would rate this article ?
Warning: this article has no overtly offensive material but I found it frakked up.
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Creative Director
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I'm looking at writing up an archetype that deals with symbols, runes, and tattoos as part of their magics. I know Forgotten Realms and Eberron both have this sort of thing integrated in some ways, but I was looking for something that fit in Golarion so I could stay more Pathfinder-ish.
Varisian spellcasters have a LOT going on with runes and tattoos... I mean, check out our iconic sorcerer, Seoni. She's Varisian, and she's covered with those tattoos.
In any event, there'll be a bit more about tatto/rune associated archetypes and stuff later this year.
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Creative Director
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Both Dragon and Dungeon had a bit with it in it. I think it might have been right before your time. Semi historical Russia/Slav/Finnish setting.Looking through older issues of Dragon and Dungeon Magazine I found the Red Sails campaign. What is any region is the most like this setting in Golarion?Remind me real quick what campaign "Red Sails" was? That was either before my time at Paizo, was mostly part of Dragon, or both, since I don't have a LOT of memories of it.
My guess is the Shackles though.
Yup, I remember that now. (I joined Paizo more or less the week that Dungeon #102 was shipping out the door to the printers.)
Brevoy/Iobaria would be the best fit though, in that case.
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Creative Director
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This relates, in part, to the reference to "Red Sails", and in part to a PC I'm trying to develop.
When Soviet-style government systems have been mentioned in the past, the nation of Molthune is the Golarion location everybody seems to point to.
I've looked at Molthune as the background for one of my PCs, and I have to say that I just don't understand the place so far. They're gearing up for war against Nirmathas, and ...?
It just seems like a bland place for adventure. We know that the central leaders have a really big map of the surrounding countries on their table in their war room, but we don't have a feel for what adventuring life is like there.
That, and I just can't figure out what kind of conventions they have there for personal names. It's certainly not Eastern European (as the names are in Ustalav.)
Molthune is one of several regions that kind of got not enough love in the first few iterations of our campaign setting. All of the regions have four pages in the new Inner Sea World Guide, which let us do a lot to bolster those nations. I wouldn't actually qualify Molthune as a "Soviet style location," though. The thing with Molthune and Nirmathas is that theyr'e nations at war with each other, but neither side is necessarilly "right." There's not an obvious bad guy there. Nirmathas is more rural, while Molthune is more urban. Nirmathas is more about gurella warfare and Molthune's more about fielding big armies. Molthune's the best place to set a campaign that's all about big armies and war-time battles and the like as a result. As for personal names... mostly English–Molthune and Nirmathas are pretty much like a bigger version of England, although landlocked. Maybe more like Germany, I guess?
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Creative Director
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So, any chances to still see a Swashbuckler base class? My personal feeling is that it isn't represented well enough in other classes or archetypes. The Duelist is fine and dandy, but is is only a PrC.
I've been pushing hard for more swashbuckler support, honestly. And so far I've been pretty underwhelmed with what we've had to offer for that class type. Hopefully Ultimate Combat will finally scratch the swashbuckler itch, though! It won't be a full 20 level class, in any event.
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Creative Director
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It's 4am. Why am I still wide awake? Why is there a cat whining outside my door? It's not mine, the complex doesn't allow pets. Why aren't I curled up in my nice warm bed?
Why do I have a headache? Why aren't I tired? Why in hell am I thinking it'd be a good idea to see just how long I can stay awake? Is it a bad thing that I know the answer to that question is "at least five days easy"?
Will I regret this post after I force myself to get some sleep?
Doh! Sorry I wasn't around earlier to answer these questions! Hopefully you're asleep by now and that poor kitty is fed and safe!
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Creative Director
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What should the General in my Kingmaker game name his twin children? It's been two sessions now and he still hasn't picked a name. (Though, to be fair, I'm not pushing him - hard to discuss baby naming when you're knee deep in trolls.)
So, suggestions for names? (One is a human girl, the other is a tiefling boy... long story on why there's a tiefling twin to a human girl, but it has to do with the cult of Gyronna event in that adventure.)
Name them Gog and Magog. Or Nug and Yeb!
Serious names, though... naming characters is one of the hardest parts of my job, to be honest. Probably because I've had to name so many characters over the past 8 years that it's getting tough to not repeat myself.