Creative Director
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If Blizzard somehow bought Paizo (or if Paizo somehow bought Blizzard), both Golarion and Azeroth feature sci-fi stuff and fantasy stuff.
1- Do you think there was a possible compatibility enought to have an adventure path visiting Kalimdor or a WOW expansion in Varisia ?
2- You already worked with both settings, you would like such crossover or fight against it ?
3- If the Alliance and the Horde came to Golarion, who they would allie with ?
4- Who they both would war against ?
Although the likelihood of either such scenario (us buying them or them buying us) is remote enough that I'm comfortable saying it'll likely never happen...
1) Both games are genre-similar enough that they could cross over with less disruption or weird rules than, say, a crossover between Golarion and Earth. Which we've done. So technically, yes, a crossover in the tabletop arena could work. I'd much much much rather see a single player video game set in Golarion than an MMO though... but if Blizzard bought Paizo... they'd be the ones to ask about how likely a Varisia expansion would be. I suspect very very unlikely, since it's always better to expand upon the things YOU invented and started, rather than tinker with someone else's IP, even if you own that IP.
2) I would not be that big on it, and would rather see the settings remain separate, since there are fundamental themes in both settings that clash. The primary one being that Golarion is a much darker and more mature setting.
3) All the races match over pretty well, so I'd think it be obvious. Alliance would ally with the core races (sans half-orc). Horde would ally with Belkzen, Whispering Way, the drow, and various monsters.
4) The answer to this question depends 100% on what sort of story the overall owner would want to tell.
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Creative Director
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I don't think it should be a spell at all. Rather this is essentially a variation on basic magic item enchantment so relevant feats should be involved. And it should always have a cost based as an item upgrade for the target item.
And this thread should remain questions for me; please don't clutter it. Thanks!
Where on Golarion would one be most likely to experience the following (non-magical) natural disasters?
A major hurricane or typhoon;
A damaging earthquake;
A big, Central Plains style tornado.
Also, has Sandpoint ever been struck by an earthquake or a tsunami?
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Creative Director
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Where on Golarion would one be most likely to experience the following (non-magical) natural disasters?
A major hurricane or typhoon;
A damaging earthquake;
A big, Central Plains style tornado.Also, has Sandpoint ever been struck by an earthquake or a tsunami?
HURRICANE: Eye of Abendego and surrounding areas.
EARTHQUAKE: Andoran's got a double threat from the various tectonic activities in the Five Kings Mountains AND the Inner Sea itself on either side... so probably Andoran.
TORNADO: There's not really a central plains type tornado generator in the Inner Sea Region, actually. There's plenty in the Worldwound or the Mana Wastes, but those are as much magically caused as they are naturally. Hmm. Maybe Numeria?
SANDPOINT: Not a major one since Sandpoint was founded some 5 decades ago... unless...
2) I would not be that big on it, and would rather see the settings remain separate, since there are fundamental themes in both settings that clash. The primary one being that Golarion is a much darker and more mature setting.
With all the stuff that goes down, frequently, in Warcraft, how is Golarion a darker setting than Warfcraft?
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Creative Director
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2) I would not be that big on it, and would rather see the settings remain separate, since there are fundamental themes in both settings that clash. The primary one being that Golarion is a much darker and more mature setting.With all the stuff that goes down, frequently, in Warcraft, how is Golarion a darker setting than Warfcraft?
Warcraft's world is much goofier in a lot of ways, with the inclusion of characters like Harris Pilton or the whole Indiana Jones subplot and much more. Further, the game's contents itself are about PG rated, whereas Golarion is more on the divide between PG-13 and R.
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1) Both games are genre-similar enough that they could cross over with less disruption or weird rules than, say, a crossover between Golarion and Earth. Which we've done. So technically, yes, a crossover in the tabletop arena could work. I'd much much much rather see a single player video game set in Golarion than an MMO though... but if Blizzard bought Paizo... they'd be the ones to ask about how likely a Varisia expansion would be. I suspect very very unlikely, since it's always better to expand upon the things YOU invented and started, rather than tinker with someone else's IP, even if you own that IP.2) I would not be that big on it, and would rather see the settings remain separate, since there are fundamental themes in both settings that clash. The primary one being that Golarion is a much darker and more mature setting.
3) All the races match over pretty well, so I'd think it be obvious. Alliance would ally with the core races (sans half-orc). Horde would ally with Belkzen, Whispering Way, the drow, and various monsters.
4) The answer to this question depends 100% on what sort of story the overall owner would want to tell.
1-a) So, if a theoretial campaing that treated both Azeroth and Golarion as coexistent but travel between them is as hard as a casting of interplanetary teleport away would it more weird than a human from Toril visiting Krynn ?
1-b) I do consider the adventures path the current top game fiction in the world, so you would like if WOW expansions become more with Adventure Path style plotlines ? Gamedesigners around the world are playing Paizo´s adventures and is impossible to not being influenced by such quality.
1-c) Did you ever played a recent game and felt that some plot was too close to something you wrote for D&D or Pathfinder ?
2-) Silliness is part of reality. We have people named with joke names in all cultures. Don´t you feel that too much seriouness is as harming to immersion as too much silliness ?
4-) If the burning legion were described in Pathfinder terms, would you consider them devils, demons or something else ?
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Creative Director
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1-a) So, if a theoretial campaing that treated both Azeroth and Golarion as coexistent but travel between them is as hard as a casting of interplanetary teleport away would it more weird than a human from Toril visiting Krynn ?
1-b) I do consider the adventures path the current top game fiction in the world, so you would like if WOW expansions become more with Adventure Path style plotlines ? Gamedesigners around the world are playing Paizo´s adventures and is impossible to not being influenced by such quality.
1-c) Did you ever played a recent game and felt that some plot was too close to something you wrote for D&D or Pathfinder ?
2-) Silliness is part of reality. We have people named with joke names in all cultures. Don´t you feel that too much seriouness is as harming to immersion as too much silliness ?
4-) If the burning legion were described in Pathfinder terms, would you consider them devils, demons or something else ?
1-a) It'd be as equally weird. Azeroth is about as "generic fantasy" as Golarion, Oerth, Krynn, Eberron, or Toril.
1-b) In order to be more like an Adventure Path plot, WOW would have to switch from being an MMO into a Single Player game akin to Fallout or Dragon Age or the Witcher or Pillars of Eternity. And those games already scratch that itch for me, using worlds that are more interesting to me than Azeroth (perhaps BECAUSE they're worlds defined by the single player experience), so I'd much rather see a company like Bioware or Bethesda or Obsidian or the like tackle something like this rather than Blizzard, from whom I've seen no real evidence that they're capable of producing a single-player game experience of the quality those other companies do. Not to devalue what Blizzard does, though! I think they're the BEST out there at the multiplayer game experience, hands down. But multiplayer games are not as interesting to me as are single player ones.
1-c) No more so than the reverse.
2) The part that bothers me in Warcraft with silly stuff is when the joke only makes sense to us. No one in-world would get the Haris Pilton joke or understand the Indiana Jones references. My favorite parts of Warcraft are when they build their own lore, not turn their game into a big in-joke.
4) Devils and demons and the like are VERY well defined in Pathifnder. The creatures of the burning legion would be their own category of new monster if we were to put them in Pathfinder... OR they'd be called demons or devils or whatever in the Warcraft version of the game and the Bestiary versions of those creatures like balors and vrocks and ice devils simply wouldn't exist in that game.
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Nope; you misunderstand.
Sandpoint is indeed in my Homebrew.
I think I was unclear in my question, because your "Nope" was what I anticipated as a "Yep."
Sandpoint in my homebrew is on the east coast of the continent, not the west. I fixed that in Golarion.
Is that fix a tribute to Seattle?
I was talking about the Starstone in the post you referenced, not Sandpoint.
Right. So what I'm asking is what "bigger than Sandpoint" elements are the same and which are different between east Coast Sandpoint and West Coast Sandpoint? Like for example if the Swallowtail festival exists in both versions, are both festivals dedicated to Desna, and is she fairly similar? Are the pantheons in general roughly the same? That kind of thing.
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Creative Director
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Nope; you misunderstand.
Sandpoint is indeed in my Homebrew.
I think I was unclear in my question, because your "Nope" was what I anticipated as a "Yep."
Sandpoint in my homebrew is on the east coast of the continent, not the west. I fixed that in Golarion.Is that fix a tribute to Seattle?
I was talking about the Starstone in the post you referenced, not Sandpoint.Right. So what I'm asking is what "bigger than Sandpoint" elements are the same and which are different between east Coast Sandpoint and West Coast Sandpoint? Like for example if the Swallowtail festival exists in both versions, are both festivals dedicated to Desna, and is she fairly similar? Are the pantheons in general roughly the same? That kind of thing.
Please rephrase and reask the question then.
Nope; that fix is a tribute to my home town of Point Arena on the northern California coast, upon which Sandpoint is VERY heavilly based (the original spanish name of Point Arena, Punta Arenas, translates to "point bar of sand" or "Sandpoint").
The "east coast Sandpoint" that was in my campaign never got mapped out and was only visited once by the PCs in one campaign when they went there to explore a haunted house (not the Misgivings; a different one that didn't make the transition from my homebrew). The version of Sandpoint that's in Pathfinder is the only one that ever got a map or a heavily detailed description. AKA: There are no "hidden unpublished pre-Pathfinder Sandpoint tidbits, really... except for a tiny bit about the town in my work that I did for Bastion Press' "Villains" book. But that version of Sandpoint is itself very different, and is little more than a throwaway name mentioned in the background of a bad guy's history and has no canon links to either my homebrew or Golarion.
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Creative Director
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Do you think that the sexual Innuendos in this short Documentary are surprising because of the subject?
Dunno. Not gonna watch it on account of I'm busy at the moment.
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So I'm personally interested in new classes, but I've noticed that some people seem to be tired of them and say stuff like that it would have been nice to have at least one year break before new classes come out since they still haven't gotten used to ACG classes or complain about power creep(whether that is real problem or not, I can't say since I don't optimize my characters ^^; Because I'm bad at that).
What I'm curious about is that is the design team planning more classes right after Vigilante? I'm kinda worried about my non PFS games players/GM either getting tired of it and wanting to switch game or just not letting me use newer options because they don't want to bother learning new rules.
Hi James I'm about to start a Wrath of the Reightous game. In the AP it says arueshalae is a possible romance option for the PCs.the other two main female NPCs are maried, to eachother, what about Queen Galfrey? The AP doesn't say a whole lot about her history others than that she has been fighting the crusades for over 100 years. Was she ever maried during that time or has she been single her whole life. obviously if she was maried she would have outliver her spouce. If one of the PCs was interested how receptive would she or to there advances?
I also just want to say Wrath of the righteous seams awesome and can't wait to run it! I love the cast of NPCs and the story as a whole is great!
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Hi James, this is kinda of a follow up to my previous kingmaker question.
In your opinion as a GM, if you are running a campaign like kingmaker, where there is plenty of time to craft items, would you allow the upgrading of magical items?
By upgrading, I meant enchanting a a +1 sword to a +2, by paying the gold differences and having the relevant crafting feats. Similar to PFS.
Or would it be better to remove magic item upgrading? Therefore encouraging players to upgrade their city so that they can sell their older items and craft new ones?
The GP cost to players would be similar either way, since most magical items are crafted at half price.
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Creative Director
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So I'm personally interested in new classes, but I've noticed that some people seem to be tired of them and say stuff like that it would have been nice to have at least one year break before new classes come out since they still haven't gotten used to ACG classes or complain about power creep(whether that is real problem or not, I can't say since I don't optimize my characters ^^; Because I'm bad at that).
What I'm curious about is that is the design team planning more classes right after Vigilante? I'm kinda worried about my non PFS games players/GM either getting tired of it and wanting to switch game or just not letting me use newer options because they don't want to bother learning new rules.
That's a question I'll leave to the design team to answer.
As for your non-PFS games... you're the ones who decide what goes into those games, not us.
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Creative Director
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Do you think that the sexual Innuendos in this short Documentary are surprising because of the subject?Dunno. Not gonna watch it on account of I'm busy at the moment.You must work really late at night. I'm surprised your even answering questions right now, i was expecting you to answer this tomorrow.
I have seen you answer questions early in the morning before. What time do you sleep?
Sometimes, yes, I do work late at night. But 90% of the time when you see me replying to questions late at night it's me, at home, spending a few moments on the boards to relax or whatever. Which often means that I'm not all that interested in spending 10 minutes or whatever watching random youtube clips.
I generally go to bed at about 2:00 AM and then sleep until about 9:30 AM.
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Creative Director
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Hi James I'm about to start a Wrath of the Reightous game. In the AP it says arueshalae is a possible romance option for the PCs.the other two main female NPCs are maried, to eachother, what about Queen Galfrey? The AP doesn't say a whole lot about her history others than that she has been fighting the crusades for over 100 years. Was she ever maried during that time or has she been single her whole life. obviously if she was maried she would have outliver her spouce. If one of the PCs was interested how receptive would she or to there advances?
I also just want to say Wrath of the righteous seams awesome and can't wait to run it! I love the cast of NPCs and the story as a whole is great!
Queen Galfrey is married to her crusade. She has no significant other, and no real desire to have one. Of course, in your game, whatever you want is fine, but in canon, she's kinda not interested in romance at all.
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Creative Director
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Hi James, this is kinda of a follow up to my previous kingmaker question.
In your opinion as a GM, if you are running a campaign like kingmaker, where there is plenty of time to craft items, would you allow the upgrading of magical items?
By upgrading, I meant enchanting a a +1 sword to a +2, by paying the gold differences and having the relevant crafting feats. Similar to PFS.Or would it be better to remove magic item upgrading? Therefore encouraging players to upgrade their city so that they can sell their older items and craft new ones?
The GP cost to players would be similar either way, since most magical items are crafted at half price.
I always allow magic item upgrading, regardless of the campaign.
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Creative Director
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I was just reading through Mythic Realms and there was a reference to Old Mage Jatembe's 'Ten Magic Warriors' giving up their names and wearing animal masks when they take that role.
Have the ten animals whom the Ten Magic Warriors are named after / wear masks of been named, that you know of?
Nope.
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James, are you taking vitamins or otherwise preparing for the run up to GenCon?
Also—maybe you know—is the 2013 promo figure, Konkrud named for the communicable diseases often circulated at conventions? And was it Erik's idea to name him that?
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Creative Director
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James, are you taking vitamins or otherwise preparing for the run up to GenCon?
Also—maybe you know—is the 2013 promo figure, Konkrud named for the communicable diseases often circulated at conventions? And was it Erik's idea to name him that?
No, I'm not. My method of avoiding the crud at Gen Con is to take lots of Vitamin C during the show, wash hands a LOT, and avoid going out after the work day is over and going to bed as early as possible to get lots of sleep during the show.
Can't remember who named Konkrud. Might have been me. Might have been Erik. Might have been someone else.
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Hi James, how do you prevent players from abusing their NPC cohorts/followers?
In the recent game I'm gming, the party suspect there is a trap in the middle of the room with a magical item laying on top of the trap. They immediately suggest that the Bard's Paladin NPC cohort go pick up the item.
I warned the party over abusing NPCs and they eventually (after a fight with the tomb's guardians) managed to retrieve the magical item.
How would you have handled this?
Is there a better way to prevent NPC abuse, without having to bluntly warn off players from doing so?
I'm hoping for some GMing advice on this, as I never gmed a game with NPC cohorts/followers before. (Other than animal companions or eidolons, which are usually far more under the control of their players.)
I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
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Creative Director
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Hi James, how do you prevent players from abusing NPC cohorts/followers?
In the recent game I'm gming, the party suspect there is a trap in the middle of the room with a magical item laying on top of the trap. They immediately suggest that the Bard's Paladin NPC cohort go pick up the item.
I warned the party over abusing NPCs and they eventually (after a fight with the tomb's guardians) managed to retrieve the magical item.How would you have handled this?
Is there a better way to prevent NPC abuse, without having to bluntly warn off players from doing so?I'm hoping for some GMing advice on this, as I never gmed a game with NPC cohorts/followers before. (Other than animal companions or eidolons, which are usually far more under the control of their players.)
I don't prevent it. If the player characters abuse NPC cohorts and followers, those NPCs abandon the PCs (at best) or rise up against them with their own NPC allies (at worst).
One way to help fight against this is by putting the "character" in the non-player character. If the NPC is just a set of stats, the players have no real investment, but once that NPC has a personality and a history and goals and quirks and all that, the NPC becomes an actual character in the group. Remember that by definition, if it's a non-player character, it's the GM who runs the character. Do your best to personalize recurring NPCs, particularly cohorts and close allies. Make the players come to like them and respect them and value their companionship, and they'll be much less inclined to treat them as nothing but bags of numbers and hit points.
At the very least, make sure the NPC has a name. I assume he/she/it does in this case, but referring to it as the "Bard's Paladin NPC cohort" may be a symptom of the problem. You need to invest these characters with personalities and make them actual characters. Even if that only means roleplaying them when another PC says something callous like "You! Paladin! Get in there and trigger that trap!"
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Creative Director
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I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
Rules questions need to be asked in the rules forums so they can be FAQed and so the design team can see them.
Rules questions need to be asked in the rules forums so they can be FAQed and so the design team can see them.I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
I've searched the rules sections, and there are many open topics on this, and all open FAQS but cannot find an answer.
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Creative Director
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I've searched the rules sections, and there are many open topics on this, and all open FAQS but cannot find an answer.Rules questions need to be asked in the rules forums so they can be FAQed and so the design team can see them.I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
Then post your question there and click the FAQ button.
I've answered rules questions before, and the more raw rulesy they are (as in this case), the more likely it is that my answers tend to cause unfortunate schisms in the fan base, arguments and rules wars in the PFS forums, and other over-reactions among gamers, all because some of them like my rulings, some don't, some value my input as the game's creative director and one of the driving forces behind the game itself, others don't think I know what I'm talking about because my job title doesn't include the word "designer" in it, some use what I reply as levers and crobars to try to browbeat their GMs into submitting to their own agendas, some ask leading questions in an attempt to get me to reply in a way that they can quote me out of context and do so, and some get freaked out that Paizo can have employees who don't interpret the rules all in the same monolithic robotic only-one-answer-can-be-right sort of way.
I get it. It's frustrating that the design team doesn't answer questions as quickly as I do, and I don't answer questions that the design team should be answering.
But it is what it is. Pretty much because that's the way the fanbase here made it have to be. Sorry.
So yeah, please ask your question in the rules forum, click the FAQ, and perhaps in the meantime just pick the solution that works best for you (if you're the GM) or ask your GM for the solution (If you're the player).
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Hi James, how do you prevent players from abusing NPC cohorts/followers...I don't prevent it. If the player characters abuse NPC cohorts and followers, those NPCs abandon the PCs (at best) or rise up against them with their own NPC allies (at worst).
One way to help fight against this is by putting the "character" in the non-player character. If the NPC is just a set of stats, the players have no real investment, but once that NPC has a personality and a history and goals and quirks and all that, the NPC becomes an actual character in the group. Remember that by definition, if it's a non-player character, it's the GM who runs the character. Do your best to personalize recurring NPCs, particularly cohorts and close allies. Make the players come to like them and respect them and value their companionship, and they'll be much less inclined to treat them as nothing but bags of numbers and hit points.
At the very least, make sure the NPC has a name. I assume he/she/it does in this case, but referring to it as the "Bard's Paladin NPC cohort" may be a symptom of the problem. You need to invest these characters with personalities and make them actual characters. Even if that only means roleplaying them when another PC says something callous like "You! Paladin! Get in there and trigger...
Thanks for the advice. The Paladin does have a name and has a set personality for him. In fact the party actually helped him to atone and become a paladin again.
I'm avoiding using character names, just in case my players were to stumble across this post. I don't want to potentially give out spoilers.In the above situation, I did roleplay the paladin as saying he is unsure how to handle magical traps. The party decided to revisted the trap later and ventured further into the tomb first, before triggering the tomb's defenders when they entered the next area.
I guess I'm just annoyed that the first thing some members of the party (which lacks a trap disabler) does when faced with a unknown or potentially dangerous situation is to call on the only NPC in the party to face it. More so as they had made a point to help the Paladin with his redemption quest before.
I'm going to take your words to mind and roleplay the relationship the paladin has with the party. Try to get the party to respect the paladin as a fellow party member and not "the NPC paladin".
Thank you.
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Creative Director
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I guess I'm just annoyed that the first thing some members of the party (which lacks a trap disabler) does when faced with a unknown or potentially dangerous situation is to call on the only NPC in the party to face it. More so as they had made a point to help the Paladin with his redemption quest before.
THERE'S your problem.
If you have no player characters in your group who can handle traps, you really shouldn't be putting traps in your adventures. Or if you do... you should make them more into puzzles the PCs can solve. Of COURSE the players are going to get frustrated if you keep hitting them with traps when they don't have the capabilities to deal with them other than simply triggering them.
My suggestion would be to replace those traps with monsters or hazard type situations they need to bypass via skill checks or other methods other than Disable Device.
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Just a heads up, James, based on your comment of how you avoid con crud: vitamin c has been scientifically proven to have no significant benefit in fighting disease, but zinc actually has! So grab some zinc supplements if you aren't already taking a multivitamin that includes it, and maybe some zinc lozenges. Just a suggestion. :-D
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You stated that much of Paizo's material is rated somewhere between PG13 and R. So far, I've found that this is definately true of the adventure paths, and some modules. The rule hardcover books seem to be much more kid friendly, though. Is this a decision that was made, or just how things worked out? And what about the other books, particularly the hard cover Inner Sea books?
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Just a heads up, James, based on your comment of how you avoid con crud: vitamin c has been scientifically proven to have no significant benefit in fighting disease, but zinc actually has! So grab some zinc supplements if you aren't already taking a multivitamin that includes it, and maybe some zinc lozenges. Just a suggestion. :-D
Good call.
Chances of me remembering this approach zero once the stress and mind-boggling mayhem of Gen-Con arrives in force, alas.
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Creative Director
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You stated that much of Paizo's material is rated somewhere between PG13 and R. So far, I've found that this is definately true of the adventure paths, and some modules. The rule hardcover books seem to be much more kid friendly, though. Is this a decision that was made, or just how things worked out? And what about the other books, particularly the hard cover Inner Sea books?
Well... the rules themselves don't really contain world content so much. They're pretty generic when it comes to flavor, overall, and as such should be equally usable for any game, whether it's a for-kids romp in the park or an adults-only grimdark session.
As for the Inner Sea hardcovers... there's some pretty adult-oriented stuff in there. Just look at the faiths of Urgathoa and Zon-Kuthon for starters in Inner Sea Gods.
That said... it's the STORIES where these things really kick in, not so much the background material. And for an RPG... the stories are the adventures.
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Do you have any plans on dealing with the martial/caster disparity in pathfinder or do you think it's not a wide enough gap to be worried about it?I think the martial/caster disparity is mostly present in the view of folks who favor martial characters who are jealous of casters, or from the point of view of folks who favor caster characters who are jealous of martial characters.
AKA: I don't think its as big a deal as the internet makes it out to be. In my games, casters and non-casters tend to be equally valuable to the party, and equally dangerous in various situations as enemies. I've seen parties get into big trouble when their only strong spellcaster wasn't at the game, and I've seen them get into big trouble when their only strong non-spellcaster wasn't at the game.
To a large extent as well the responsibility to keep things fair and fun for all involved lands on the GM's shoulders. If every single fight is against flying creatures that use ranged attacks, the characters who focused on melee stuff are going to be cranky. Likewise, if every single fight is against golems or high SR foes, the spellcasters are going to be cranky.
It's a balancing act.
If your willing to comment. What are your thoughts on this issue 2 1/2 yrs later?
How about a Book of Traits. Book of Feats. Big Book of Classes and Archetypes. Mostly reprints, but include errata, fix typos, and maybe a little new stuff.
I'd buy one of each.....
I'm more interested in story content and world content and monsters. We already do books like you request; things like Ultimate Combat and the Advanced Class Guide and the Player Companion line should provide more than enough traits and feats and classes and archetypes.
A big book that simply gathers all that content together in one big book and "fixes errors" would be a frustrating waste of time in my opinion, since the bigger a book is, the more impossible it is to keep it error free. I'm more interested in the game itself, and playing it, and creating stories for it, and fixing the little errors myself as needed to make those stories work than I am obsessing over chasing a unicorn or other impossibility... such as a book that's error free.
why is this the case? I ask because over the years, I had to use math textbooks, cell bio, genetics, massive books, with an incredibly amount of complex information that were error free. are RPG books edited or created differently than text books?
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Please rephrase and reask the question then.
Because you said there was no Starstone in your homebrew campaign world, I was asking whether that meant that the Sandpoint of your "Shadows Under Sandpoint" campaign was in your homebrew setting rather than on Golarion.
Nope; that fix is a tribute to my home town of Point Arena on the northern California coast, upon which Sandpoint is VERY heavilly based (the original spanish name of Point Arena, Punta Arenas, translates to "point bar of sand" or "Sandpoint").
That's neat. I'm not sure I would have ever thought to base a fantasy town on my home town.
The version of Sandpoint that's in Pathfinder is the only one that ever got a map or a heavily detailed description.
So did "Shadows Under Sandpoint" predate "Burnt Offerings" or the other way around?
Was there a particular reason Paizo went with the minutes duration for most buff spells like D&D 3.5?
Do you think there should be a revision what what the permanency spell can make permanent?
If a Wish spell can add a bonus to a PC's ability scores then would it be able to reverse aging by a number of years?
Do you think the Sorcerer is a bit outclassed now by other caster-based classes?
Do the fiendish races (aka Demons, Devils, Daemons, etc etc) fight each other just as often as they do the forces of good (Example: A Balor Lord leads an army of Demons into Abaddon to make war on the Daemons)?
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Creative Director
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If your willing to comment. What are your thoughts on this issue 2 1/2 yrs later?Do you have any plans on dealing with the martial/caster disparity in pathfinder or do you think it's not a wide enough gap to be worried about it?I think the martial/caster disparity is mostly present in the view of folks who favor martial characters who are jealous of casters, or from the point of view of folks who favor caster characters who are jealous of martial characters.
AKA: I don't think its as big a deal as the internet makes it out to be. In my games, casters and non-casters tend to be equally valuable to the party, and equally dangerous in various situations as enemies. I've seen parties get into big trouble when their only strong spellcaster wasn't at the game, and I've seen them get into big trouble when their only strong non-spellcaster wasn't at the game.
To a large extent as well the responsibility to keep things fair and fun for all involved lands on the GM's shoulders. If every single fight is against flying creatures that use ranged attacks, the characters who focused on melee stuff are going to be cranky. Likewise, if every single fight is against golems or high SR foes, the spellcasters are going to be cranky.
It's a balancing act.
I haven't changed my opinion.
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Creative Director
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why is this the case? I ask because over the years, I had to use math textbooks, cell bio, genetics, massive books, with an incredibly amount of complex information that were error free. are RPG books edited or created differently than text books?How about a Book of Traits. Book of Feats. Big Book of Classes and Archetypes. Mostly reprints, but include errata, fix typos, and maybe a little new stuff.
I'd buy one of each.....
I'm more interested in story content and world content and monsters. We already do books like you request; things like Ultimate Combat and the Advanced Class Guide and the Player Companion line should provide more than enough traits and feats and classes and archetypes.
A big book that simply gathers all that content together in one big book and "fixes errors" would be a frustrating waste of time in my opinion, since the bigger a book is, the more impossible it is to keep it error free. I'm more interested in the game itself, and playing it, and creating stories for it, and fixing the little errors myself as needed to make those stories work than I am obsessing over chasing a unicorn or other impossibility... such as a book that's error free.
The text book industry is a MUCH larger one than the tabletop RPG industry. I also suspect text book publishers employe a MUCH larger room full of editors than Paizo does.
But all you really have to do is look at the price tag difference between a typical RPG hardcover and a typical text book hardcover.
If we could get customers to buy in on having college textbook prices on RPGs, maybe we'd be able to afford larger editorial operations. And even then... the PACE at which we produce books is pretty breakneck...
In the end, though... an error in a RPG rulebook? Hardly in the same category as an error in a book about how to do brain surgery.
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Creative Director
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Please rephrase and reask the question then.Because you said there was no Starstone in your homebrew campaign world, I was asking whether that meant that the Sandpoint of your "Shadows Under Sandpoint" campaign was in your homebrew setting rather than on Golarion.
Nope; that fix is a tribute to my home town of Point Arena on the northern California coast, upon which Sandpoint is VERY heavilly based (the original spanish name of Point Arena, Punta Arenas, translates to "point bar of sand" or "Sandpoint").That's neat. I'm not sure I would have ever thought to base a fantasy town on my home town.
The version of Sandpoint that's in Pathfinder is the only one that ever got a map or a heavily detailed description.So did "Shadows Under Sandpoint" predate "Burnt Offerings" or the other way around?
Ah; nope. The Sandpoint of my "Shadows Under Sandpoint" is 100% the Golarion version, to the extent that several significant plot elements of that campaign are in print in books like Dungeons of Golarion and Magnimar.
Burnt Offerings launched the Pathfinder brand. Shadows Under Sandpoint started after the Core Rulebook was published, over 2 years later.
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Creative Director
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Was there a particular reason Paizo went with the minutes duration for most buff spells like D&D 3.5?
Do you think there should be a revision what what the permanency spell can make permanent?
If a Wish spell can add a bonus to a PC's ability scores then would it be able to reverse aging by a number of years?
Do you think the Sorcerer is a bit outclassed now by other caster-based classes?
Do the fiendish races (aka Demons, Devils, Daemons, etc etc) fight each other just as often as they do the forces of good (Example: A Balor Lord leads an army of Demons into Abaddon to make war on the Daemons)?
Backwards compatibility.
Probably, but at the same point, that's what GMs are for.
If the GM wants it to be able to do so, sure.
No; each class is good at things other classes are not good at, and they're not all equally quantifiable against each other.
No.
I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
If James will forgive the intrusion, but this is answered in the FAQ:
I have searched the forums for days trying to find an answer to this -
If you are a mounted character wielding a lance what is your power attack? -1/+2 or -1/+3?
If James will forgive the intrusion, but this is answered in the FAQ:
Not to be argumentative, but this FAQ says that lances don't get the 2-handed bonus.
So, your mileage may vary.
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I guess I'm just annoyed that the first thing some members of the party (which lacks a trap disabler) does when faced with a unknown or potentially dangerous situation is to call on the only NPC in the party to face it. More so as they had made a point to help the Paladin with his redemption quest before.
THERE'S your problem.
If you have no player characters in your group who can handle traps, you really shouldn't be putting traps in your adventures. Or if you do... you should make them more into puzzles the PCs can solve. Of COURSE the players are going to get frustrated if you keep hitting them with traps when they don't have the capabilities to deal with them other than simply triggering them.
My suggestion would be to replace those traps with monsters or hazard type situations they need to bypass via skill checks or other methods other than Disable Device.
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to plan ahead better for such encounters in the future. In retrospect I could have made this encounter into a puzzle solving one as you suggested.
I have to point out that this is the very first magical trap the party faced since the start of this campaign. There are very few traps overall in the campaign. The party is equipped to summon monsters and I have hinted to the party's wizard multiple times to pick up Aram Zey's Focus if he is concerned about traps.
The party have access to pretty much any official paizo resource they have.
Sorry if I gave the impression that I'm hitting the party repeatedly with traps or unsolvable encounters.
I just wanted some GMing advice to avoid this situation repeating itself in the future.