Creative Director
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Do you like cheese? If so, what are your favorites? If not, when did you first take over a human host, you obviously outsider?
I do like cheese quite a lot; my favorite is probably a tie between cheddar and gouda.
Or at least, I liked cheese until I had my gall bladder out back in January of 2014. Now, without said gall bladder, cheese tends to give me an upset stomach so I don't really eat it much anymore. I actually DO still like it, but it's not a food I eat much anymore.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
Just trying to flesh out a character concept for an upcoming Hells Rebels game, and was hoping to get some clarity on these questions.
How are Ratfolk viewed in Cheliax? Would they typically be lower class or slaves like half-lings? Or just uncommon citizens? Also how difficult would it be for one to be a practicing follower of Miliani seeing as the faith is most likely forbidden? Would being a follower of Abadar be more likely?
Thanks in advance.
Ratfolk are quite rare in Cheliax, and they tend to be mistaken for wererats when they do show up. As such, they're often treated as monsters, thieves, or both. A ratfolk openly walking around in Kintargo would be a bit out of character for the city; you wouldn't be attacked or arrested on sight, but you'd find yourself not being trusted a lot.
And while there is an official church of Abadar in Kintargo, it doesn't play a big role in Hell's Rebels at all. It's very much in the background, said church being all beaten down and submissive to Asmodeus, and unwilling to stand up for the defense of the citizens. There IS an active cult of Milani in Kintargo, and that faith is a lot more active in the AP.
The closer your character gets to chaotic good, the better she or he will fit into the AP's themes. And the races that are probably the best to choose from overall are the core races plus tiefling and maybe aasimar and aquatic elf (assuming your GM is cool with you playing those races). Strix could be interesting too, but that's a really tricky one to pull off, more so than the others.
More info will be arriving in the Player's Guide, of course.
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Creative Director
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Since we were on this subject, you don't think this mentality is the new normal in gaming, do you? Because that's what scares me. It would be bearable if I could justifiably perceive it as merely a peripheral annoyance, but I worry it's virtually inescapable, and that winds up corroding my own thinking (admittedly, I have some psychological problems such as severe OCD that make it much more difficult to withstand things like this).I also prefer the term "flavor" to "fluff," since "fluff" implies that non-rule material is weightless and without gravity and ultimately not as important as the rules themselves.
I don't think that at all. This mentality of rules vs. flavor has been around as long as tabletop RPGs have been around.
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Creative Director
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Interesting...in that event, I have to also ask: what does it sound like when a Wayang Bard sings? Of course their niche is shadow puppetry, but some of them no doubt sing.What do Wayang voices tend to sound like?Raspy and soft, like a piece of fine-grain sandpaper learned how to whisper.
Raspy and soft, like a piece of fine-grain sandpaper learned how to sing.
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Creative Director
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So five years ago I got into Pathfinder, but I had zero experience with rpgs. I didn't know anything besides rulebooks were published. After five years of always writing my own material (I've never actually played, only ever been the GM), I'm curious: all the ways for GMs to share their content seem to be very Golarion-focused. Is there an outlet for works that are not set in Golarion?
Yes; there's outlets all over the place, be they the vast number of 3rd party publishers or simply posting your work online to share with others. On these boards, things do tend to skew toward Golarion, of course, and my own focus is very much in that direction. I can't really give specific examples, but I'd suggest posting elsewhere on these boards to get feedback from other posters.
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How does an elven branched spear look? Are the spear point "branches" straight, sticking out at an angle, or are they curved like the prongs of a trident? Do they stick out in different directions or are they arranged in a "line" (i.e. if you were looking at the spear from the top down, would the branches form a line or something more like a hexagon or wheel around the central spearhead)?
Sorry if I'm not as clear as I should be. I'm struggling to get a handle on just what this weapon looks like.
Have you ever heard of or watched the movie Black Death? It's what can only be described as a medieval horror movie, I think, and one of my favorite lesser known movies. It stars Sean Bean and Carice van Houten, to boot! It won't leave you up shivering or anything, it's more psychological, and is maybe more of a thriller. Still, really good!
Have you ever heard of or watched the movie Black Death? It's what can only be described as a medieval horror movie, I think, and one of my favorite lesser known movies. It stars Sean Bean and Carice van Houten, to boot!
I've never seen it myself, but I'm just going to go ahead and call it: Sean Bean dies.
What do you think the odds are of my prediction being correct, James?
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Interesting...in that event, I have to also ask: what does it sound like when a Wayang Bard sings? Of course their niche is shadow puppetry, but some of them no doubt sing.Raspy and soft, like a piece of fine-grain sandpaper learned how to sing.
I can't say I didn't I ask for that.
Can you name a famous person or character whose voice you'd peg as Wayang-like?
Follow-Up Question: How did this one thing I'm looking at in here wind up In Your Closet, of all places? I'm sure you know which thing I'm talking about. I'm not sure I've never seen anything like it.
Which Adventure Path is your favourite? Which one is your least favourite? Which one are you neutral towards?
James,
I just listened to a lot of the Know Direction coverage of the PaizoCon seminars. First of all, huge thanks to you and the rest of the Paizo staff for being so available to your fan base. Y'all are amazing that way. One of the things that the seminar coverage makes clear is that as a publishing company, y'all are producing material well ahead of when you're announcing it. But, it wasn't clear exactly how far ahead things are happening So, questions about schedules:
1) You outline APs well in advance of announcing them. What AP (release date, not asking for title/theme spoilers for unannounced APs) did you you last outline? When did you outline it?
2) When did you assign out the adventures in that AP? Do you assign all six at once or is it staggered?
3) How far before publication do you ask for final copy from your adventure writers?
4) You just gave the final proofs and go-ahead to the printer for an AP issue. How long does it take to get the issues printed and shipped to your warehouse on the slow boat?
Thanks so much!
Have you seen any Titansgrave: Ashes of Valkana yet?
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Creative Director
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How does an elven branched spear look? Are the spear point "branches" straight, sticking out at an angle, or are they curved like the prongs of a trident? Do they stick out in different directions or are they arranged in a "line" (i.e. if you were looking at the spear from the top down, would the branches form a line or something more like a hexagon or wheel around the central spearhead)?
Sorry if I'm not as clear as I should be. I'm struggling to get a handle on just what this weapon looks like.
I have no idea what an "elven branched spear" is. So you probably have a better idea than I do as to what it is.
Ok, based on an internet search, looks like it's a weapon from the Melee Tactics Toolbox, which I haven't read, so that explains my confusion.
The easiest answer is to just ignore it. The game has PLENTY of weapons to choose from.
I suspect it's mostly a long spear type weapon that you can also make attacks with by sweeping side to side. In that it looks like a spear with spikes or knives sticking out to the left and right just past the spear tip itself. Or perhaps a trident with multiple side spikes that are stumpy.
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Creative Director
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Have you ever heard of or watched the movie Black Death? It's what can only be described as a medieval horror movie, I think, and one of my favorite lesser known movies. It stars Sean Bean and Carice van Houten, to boot! It won't leave you up shivering or anything, it's more psychological, and is maybe more of a thriller. Still, really good!
Yup; saw it several years ago. Good movie!
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Creative Director
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Have you ever heard of or watched the movie Black Death? It's what can only be described as a medieval horror movie, I think, and one of my favorite lesser known movies. It stars Sean Bean and Carice van Houten, to boot!I've never seen it myself, but I'm just going to go ahead and call it: Sean Bean dies.
What do you think the odds are of my prediction being correct, James?
Somewhere between 0% and 100%.
AKA: I don't play the "let's spoil movies" game.
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Creative Director
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Interesting...in that event, I have to also ask: what does it sound like when a Wayang Bard sings? Of course their niche is shadow puppetry, but some of them no doubt sing.Raspy and soft, like a piece of fine-grain sandpaper learned how to sing.I can't say I didn't I ask for that.
Can you name a famous person or character whose voice you'd peg as Wayang-like?
Follow-Up Question: How did this one thing I'm looking at in here wind up In Your Closet, of all places? I'm sure you know which thing I'm talking about. I'm not sure I've never seen anything like it.
I cannot.
And likely via a wormhole. Like the one in Poltergeist.
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Creative Director
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Which Adventure Path is your favourite? Which one is your least favourite? Which one are you neutral towards?
AKA: Which Adventure Path author do you think did the worst job?
I don't answer questions like this, because as the one who more or less sets the vision for the line, I'm not interested in badmouthing the people I hire or work with. Sorry!
That's not exactly the way I wanted to present that question.
What, would they kill you for having a differing opinion?
Ah well, I won't push it then. I'll try and think of something else to ask.
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Creative Director
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James,
I just listened to a lot of the Know Direction coverage of the PaizoCon seminars. First of all, huge thanks to you and the rest of the Paizo staff for being so available to your fan base. Y'all are amazing that way. One of the things that the seminar coverage makes clear is that as a publishing company, y'all are producing material well ahead of when you're announcing it. But, it wasn't clear exactly how far ahead things are happening So, questions about schedules:
1) You outline APs well in advance of announcing them. What AP (release date, not asking for title/theme spoilers for unannounced APs) did you you last outline? When did you outline it?
2) When did you assign out the adventures in that AP? Do you assign all six at once or is it staggered?
3) How far before publication do you ask for final copy from your adventure writers?
4) You just gave the final proofs and go-ahead to the printer for an AP issue. How long does it take to get the issues printed and shipped to your warehouse on the slow boat?
Thanks so much!
Yay! Thanks for the kind words!
1) The last AP I outlined was the one that's coming out in the second half of 2016; I finished outlining that one a few weeks before PaizoCon.
2) The adventures in that AP were assigned in the middle of June, or thereabouts. We try to assign all six at once, but usually one or two authors aren't available and so it slips and slides, but we almost always manage to get the six parts assigned within a two week span.
3) We generally ask for all six parts at the same time. That means that part one (hopefully) comes in between 6 to 12 months before we send the finished product to the printer.
4) Generally 3 months, but sometimes 4, depending on how busy the printer is.
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Creative Director
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As demonic cults with roots in ancient Azlant, how do the cults of Zura and Nurgal feel about each other? Are they more likely to find common ground and even work together, or do they have more animosity towards each other?
They don't really have any common ground. Zura's cult is much more fractured and tends to have smaller cells or even individual cultists, while Nurgal tends to have armies. They don't really have much to do with each other, especially since they favor the exact opposite times of the day. Nurgal, as a demon lord of the sun, kinda zaps the demon lord of vampires, and so she kinda hates him and he doesn't really concern himself with her. Which may well come back to bite him in the ass some day.
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Creative Director
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By AP no.50 what do you want Paizo to have done with the APs?
I want us to have done 50 APs that I would enjoy playing or running.
I'm not gonna give details on plots and themes, because all the ones I have in my head right now could well become APs within the next few years. And I don't want to ...
a) Set false expectations, or...
b) Reveal our plans before the time is right.
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Creative Director
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That's not exactly the way I wanted to present that question.
What, would they kill you for having a differing opinion?
Ah well, I won't push it then. I'll try and think of something else to ask.
In this modern age of people issuing death threats on the internet for all sorts of immature and hateful and narrow-midned reasons... it wouldn't surprise me to have someone issue a death threat, no. Whether or not it'd be a serious one or not... it's probably best to take it seriously.
At the very least, it'd hurt feelings and perhaps ruin professional relationships.
It's the same reason parents shouldn't publicly announce which of their children they like the most and which ones they hate the most.
Or to put it another way... what if I revealed who my favorite messageboard poster was, and it wasn't you? How would you feel? Or what if I revealed who my LEAST favorite messageboard poster was, and it WAS you?
And now multiply those feelings by the total number of other posters to these boards.
I obviously DO have favorite APs and least favorite APs, just as I have favorite messageboard posters and least favorite ones... but there's just no way I can publicly reveal who or what those are without hurting feelings or, worst case scenario, making enemies or hurting the company I work for.
So I don't answer "What's your most/least favorite tabletop RPG product?" type questions. Hope that puts things into a better perspective.
Fair enough. So, back to questions then!
Which one opposes Norgorber more strongly, Cayden or Iomedae?
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How does an elven branched spear look? Are the spear point "branches" straight, sticking out at an angle, or are they curved like the prongs of a trident? Do they stick out in different directions or are they arranged in a "line" (i.e. if you were looking at the spear from the top down, would the branches form a line or something more like a hexagon or wheel around the central spearhead)?
Sorry if I'm not as clear as I should be. I'm struggling to get a handle on just what this weapon looks like.
I have no idea what an "elven branched spear" is. So you probably have a better idea than I do as to what it is.
Ok, based on an internet search, looks like it's a weapon from the Melee Tactics Toolbox, which I haven't read, so that explains my confusion.
The easiest answer is to just ignore it. The game has PLENTY of weapons to choose from.
I suspect it's mostly a long spear type weapon that you can also make attacks with by sweeping side to side. In that it looks like a spear with spikes or knives sticking out to the left and right just past the spear tip itself. Or perhaps a trident with multiple side spikes that are stumpy.
And after David Schwartz sort of pre-empted your answer, I decided it wasn't what I was looking for in a weapon for this particular character anyway. Thank you both for the information! :)
Out of all the dinosaurs you're familiar with, which do you think was the cutest?
Am I reading things right when I say there are no "chosen ones" or "messiahs" on Golarion determined by things like prophecy since Aroden died, but there were beforehand, and there can still be present-day "chosen ones" picked by a god or other powerful extraplanar entity, but that's more due to the gods favoring their champions in the present and not because it was set down in iambic pentameter by a soothsayer when the ancient planet was not quite so ancient?
Do I annoy you? If I do, I'm sorry. :(
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That's not exactly the way I wanted to present that question.
What, would they kill you for having a differing opinion?
Ah well, I won't push it then. I'll try and think of something else to ask.
In this modern age of people issuing death threats on the internet for all sorts of immature and hateful and narrow-midned reasons... it wouldn't surprise me to have someone issue a death threat, no. Whether or not it'd be a serious one or not... it's probably best to take it seriously.
At the very least, it'd hurt feelings and perhaps ruin professional relationships.
It's the same reason parents shouldn't publicly announce which of their children they like the most and which ones they hate the most.
Or to put it another way... what if I revealed who my favorite messageboard poster was, and it wasn't you? How would you feel? Or what if I revealed who my LEAST favorite messageboard poster was, and it WAS you?
And now multiply those feelings by the total number of other posters to these boards.
I obviously DO have favorite APs and least favorite APs, just as I have favorite messageboard posters and least favorite ones... but there's just no way I can publicly reveal who or what those are without hurting feelings or, worst case scenario, making enemies or hurting the company I work for.
So I don't answer "What's your most/least favorite tabletop RPG product?" type questions. Hope that puts things into a better perspective.
It's this kind of class that helps keep me a proud Paizo customer. That and the cocaine I think they sprinkle onto the pages of their products.
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Creative Director
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How does an elven branched spear look? Are the spear point "branches" straight, sticking out at an angle, or are they curved like the prongs of a trident? Do they stick out in different directions or are they arranged in a "line" (i.e. if you were looking at the spear from the top down, would the branches form a line or something more like a hexagon or wheel around the central spearhead)?
Sorry if I'm not as clear as I should be. I'm struggling to get a handle on just what this weapon looks like.
I have no idea what an "elven branched spear" is. So you probably have a better idea than I do as to what it is.
Ok, based on an internet search, looks like it's a weapon from the Melee Tactics Toolbox, which I haven't read, so that explains my confusion.
The easiest answer is to just ignore it. The game has PLENTY of weapons to choose from.
I suspect it's mostly a long spear type weapon that you can also make attacks with by sweeping side to side. In that it looks like a spear with spikes or knives sticking out to the left and right just past the spear tip itself. Or perhaps a trident with multiple side spikes that are stumpy.
And after David Schwartz sort of pre-empted your answer, I decided it wasn't what I was looking for in a weapon for this particular character anyway. Thank you both for the information! :)
Out of all the dinosaurs you're familiar with, which do you think was the cutest?
Am I reading things right when I say there are no "chosen ones" or "messiahs" on Golarion determined by things like prophecy since Aroden died, but there were beforehand, and there can still be present-day "chosen ones" picked by a god or other powerful extraplanar entity, but that's more due to the gods favoring their champions in the present and not because it was set down in iambic pentameter by a soothsayer when the ancient planet was not quite so ancient?
Do I annoy you? If I do, I'm sorry. :(
The idea of a "chosen one" doesn't work well with a teamwork-based game, frankly.
And no, you don't annoy me.
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Creative Director
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Good point. But I think you might have missed my "cutest dinosaur" question (not that I blame you, that was a long post).
Also, you think the arachnophobia Tolkien instilled in fantasy literature can be annoying?
Cutest? Trodon.
And nope; the spider stuff in Tolkien is my favorite part, to be honest. Although the balrog is cool too.
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Creative Director
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Why a T-Rex for your avatar?
Once upon a time, all Paizo employees simply grabbed an avatar from the list of available avatars on our boards. (By limiting posters to avatars we curate and offer as options, we help to make these boards have a Paizo-themed flavor and don't have to worry about people both breaking that flavor or using avatars that are offensive or make Paizo a less safe place for anyone.)
One day, management decided that they wanted all Paizo employees to have unique avatars, so that when we posted to the boards, it was one more visual cue that it was an actual employee posting and not someone who simply picked the same avatar as an employee; this also helped cut down on some people who were making fake employee accounts to goof around.
My first avatar was the fiendish T-Rex D&D mini. So when it came time for us all to pick our own avatars, I wanted one that kept that theme, because I really REALLY like dinosaurs, and T-Rex is my favorite one.
We all basically sifted through the art we all had available at the time and every employee let the tech team know what image we wanted. The image I chose was from a piece of art I'd ordered for the Inner Sea World Guide, but at the time had not yet seen print.
I've changed my avatar a few times, but folks freaked out because they'd grown used to the T-Rex, so it's now here to stay.
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DOWN WITH THRUNE!
Do you listen to Welcome to Nightvale?
(Apologies if this has already been asked.)
If you haven't you might want to consider it. The podcasts can be listened to during commutes or exercise or whatever, and it's kind of like if eldritch abominations ala Lovecraft tried their best to run a town for the benefit of all its residents.
Why do so many people mistakingly believe roleplaying and optimization are mutually exclusive?
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Creative Director
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Do you listen to Welcome to Nightvale?
(Apologies if this has already been asked.)
If you haven't you might want to consider it. The podcasts can be listened to during commutes or exercise or whatever, and it's kind of like if eldritch abominations ala Lovecraft tried their best to run a town for the benefit of all its residents.
I've listened to it a few times, but not regularly. I liked what I heard though, quite a lot. If I had a time and place to listen to podcasts more frequently, I'd do so... hmmm... maybe the walk to work?
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Creative Director
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Why do so many people mistakingly believe roleplaying and optimization are mutually exclusive?
Because people tend to get pretty obsessed with one element of something and forget that the other elements are important as well.
It's like ordering a pizza and getting all rhapsodic about the pepperoni. You still need cheese and crust and sauce.
Better yet, ditch the pepperoni entirely and add artichoke hearts and garlic and jalapenos.
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I'd go with the first one. The second one looks like you tried (and failed) to write "oriental."Which version of this name feels better for a half-elf?
ORENDEL or ORENTIL?
Good point. Thanks! :)
Sorta awkward question requiring images:
What kind of spears are these? I'm unsure as to whether they're spears or longspears.