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Between Wrath of the Righteous, Iron Gods, Hell's Rebels and Strange Aeons, would I be wrong if I guessed that Hell's Rebels is the one you're the least passionate about?
You've claimed to be a champion of demons, and you seem to be heavily into Nocticula who plays a big role in Wrath, so it seems like Wrath had a lot of stuff you were excited by.
Similarly, Numeria seemed like something that you felt very strongly about.
And of course we all know you're big time into the Lovecraft mythos, so Strange Aeons seems like a dream come true for you.
Comparatively, it seems like Hell's Rebels isn't really *that* high "up there" on your excitement levels.
Am I wrong?
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Since you reveled which gods will get deity articles in Strange Aeons, Can tell us which gods will get deity articles in Hell's Vengeance?A) Will there be any potential of Manasaputra-derived Aasimars and Sakhil-derived Tieflings becoming playable?
B) The Great Beyond, A Guide to the Multiverse was released by Paizo in May 2009. Is that the end-all, be all book about the Planes as far as Pathfinder is concerned? Or is it due for an update eventually with a newer planar-themed hardcover?
C) Are Cthulhu and Hastur the two deities that will have articles in the backmatter of Strange Aeons?
D) What role will Nyarlathotep play in Strange Aeons, if any?
A) No plans anytime soon.
B) That book only scratches the surface. There's a LOT more to tell.
C) Nope. Hastur and Xhamen-Dor.
D) Unrevealed, but at this point, not a big role at all.
Moloch and Geryon.
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Between Wrath of the Righteous, Iron Gods, Hell's Rebels and Strange Aeons, would I be wrong if I guessed that Hell's Rebels is the one you're the least passionate about?
You've claimed to be a champion of demons, and you seem to be heavily into Nocticula who plays a big role in Wrath, so it seems like Wrath had a lot of stuff you were excited by.
Similarly, Numeria seemed like something that you felt very strongly about.
And of course we all know you're big time into the Lovecraft mythos, so Strange Aeons seems like a dream come true for you.
Comparatively, it seems like Hell's Rebels isn't really *that* high "up there" on your excitement levels.
Am I wrong?
Actually... Hell's Rebels is one that I've wanted to do for many years. I'm VERY passionate about it... the chance to do an AP about my favorite alignment fighting back and WINNING against Thrune? Yes please! I've actually been dropping hints about Kintargo and this AP in various products for sevearal years now. It's really great to finally be able to do something about it!
SO yeah... you're very very wrong.
After all... this is the first AP I've written an entire adventure for since Jade Regent; that's not even something I set time aside to do for Wrath of the Righteous, nor is it something I'll be doing for Strange Aeons, as it turns out.
I would have worked with Adam to build an AP that he'd be able to be more involved in the creation of... but that's not the world we live in, alas.Is Adam filling in for Adventure Path something that's just an emergency stopgap, or are you grooming/training him for being a more regular person in that role?The latter. AT this point, there are two people at Paizo who have the training and skill and experience to pull off an Adventure Path—myself and Rob. If one of us gets hit by a bus... Wes might be able to step in to take up the slack, but then we'll be without an editor in chief for 9 months. In any event, that'd all be a disaster.
So with Adam and others stepping in to help out, we're less frightened about all that.
From a business perspective, cross-training and redundancy are very good things to have. We used to use the "what if X got hit by a bus" example...until one if our staff actually was hit by a bus. (She's mostly OK now, with some permanent disabilities. She was out for almost a year to recover her injuries.)
We now use "What if X was abducted by aliens?"
Is cross-training a new thing at Paizo?
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SO yeah... you're very very wrong.
And rarely have I been this happy to hear so. Thanks for getting me more psyched for Hell's Rebels. For me, far more important than the plot or themes itself is writer passion.
So, on the topic of the Strange Aeons replacement project, how do you even end up with a situation where you had to make changes and you were moved to a different project instead? Was "Project X" that you're now doing instead of Strange Aeons something that was already on the plate, but someone else was slated for it, but is now unavailable so you had to step in? Or is it a completely new product that you didn't originally have on the project schedule, but added it in, thus necessitating the shift of manpower? It just seems like you guys plan the schedule ahead a lot, so I'm curious about what happened to mess that up?
Also, when do we find out what this other project is? Next year PaizoCon, GenCon?
Is it an AP Anniversary Edition HC? ;)
Would you care to name drop a favorite NPC in Hell's Rebels that we should watch out for?
Question out of the blue here, hopefully easy...
Using downtime rules, how would you handle a player wishing to actually have a foundry rather than just a forge as part of a smithy?
Would you just have the player purchase/build multiple forges to collectively count as a (steel) furnace with mold casting capability?
Is there some other way to represent this, or does that seem the most logical approach to you?
Note: Although a long period of time was needed to develop the modern furnace processes we use today, actual furnaces have been around in one form or another since before the AD years began.
How do the species of the Dominion of the Black interact with the standard Pathfinder cosmology? Namely, what happens to their souls after they die?They work the exact same as any other living creature. Their souls go to the Boneyard and then end up getting judged and sent on as appropriate. Since the bulk of the Dominion of the Black follow unusual faiths that aren't really about worshiping deities but are more philosophies or the like, that means their souls generally go on to whatever outer plane matches their alignment. Whether they're punished or rewarded or turned into outsiders or become quintessence all depends on Pharasma.
That's interesting. I like to imagine them feeding Qlippoth/weird Daemon formation, given that the seem older/more primordial than humanoids, and I've always preferred to believe non-humanoid (e.g. dragon) souls end up as non-humanoid outsiders if they do evolve in that direction.
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I would have worked with Adam to build an AP that he'd be able to be more involved in the creation of... but that's not the world we live in, alas.Is Adam filling in for Adventure Path something that's just an emergency stopgap, or are you grooming/training him for being a more regular person in that role?The latter. AT this point, there are two people at Paizo who have the training and skill and experience to pull off an Adventure Path—myself and Rob. If one of us gets hit by a bus... Wes might be able to step in to take up the slack, but then we'll be without an editor in chief for 9 months. In any event, that'd all be a disaster.
So with Adam and others stepping in to help out, we're less frightened about all that.
From a business perspective, cross-training and redundancy are very good things to have. We used to use the "what if X got hit by a bus" example...until one if our staff actually was hit by a bus. (She's mostly OK now, with some permanent disabilities. She was out for almost a year to recover her injuries.)
We now use "What if X was abducted by aliens?"
Is cross-training a new thing at Paizo?
No... but cross-training for adventure path developers is. Due to the fact that before we had enough developers with the recent hires, we simply lacked the ability to take an AP developer off that line to train a new person.
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SO yeah... you're very very wrong.And rarely have I been this happy to hear so. Thanks for getting me more psyched for Hell's Rebels. For me, far more important than the plot or themes itself is writer passion.
So, on the topic of the Strange Aeons replacement project, how do you even end up with a situation where you had to make changes and you were moved to a different project instead? Was "Project X" that you're now doing instead of Strange Aeons something that was already on the plate, but someone else was slated for it, but is now unavailable so you had to step in? Or is it a completely new product that you didn't originally have on the project schedule, but added it in, thus necessitating the shift of manpower? It just seems like you guys plan the schedule ahead a lot, so I'm curious about what happened to mess that up?
Also, when do we find out what this other project is? Next year PaizoCon, GenCon?
Is it an AP Anniversary Edition HC? ;)
Would you care to name drop a favorite NPC in Hell's Rebels that we should watch out for?
I'm not gonna say what the unannounced project is... but another project I'll be working on instead of Strange Aeons is Horror Adventures. So it's actually two projects I need to work on instead of the Strange Aeons AP. In this case, it was kind of a necessary but unintended and unanticipated result of management deciding to do said project in the same time frame as Strange Aeons.
And having to move to different projects is relatively common in the industry. It more or less happens when management reassigns a person because the project they're needed for is well suited for their skills, a higher profile project, or whatever.
This is, in fact, why I ended up writing about 80% of Red Hand of Doom; Rich Baker was originally the solo author, but WotC Management needed him to stop work on that and help launch an Axis and Allies game, which was a MUCH more important project and higher profile than just another adventure. So, he got reassigned, and I got to take on the rest of the adventure's work.
My favorite NPC in Hell's Rebels is also my favorite NPC in Golarion: Shensen.
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Question out of the blue here, hopefully easy...
Using downtime rules, how would you handle a player wishing to actually have a foundry rather than just a forge as part of a smithy?
Would you just have the player purchase/build multiple forges to collectively count as a (steel) furnace with mold casting capability?
Is there some other way to represent this, or does that seem the most logical approach to you?Note: Although a long period of time was needed to develop the modern furnace processes we use today, actual furnaces have been around in one form or another since before the AD years began.
First, I'd re-read the rules for downtime. I'd probably end up just ad-hoc adjusting the forge/smithy prices as made sense at the time.
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That's interesting. I like to imagine them feeding Qlippoth/weird Daemon formation, given that the seem older/more primordial than humanoids, and I've always preferred to believe non-humanoid (e.g. dragon) souls end up as non-humanoid outsiders if they do evolve in that direction.How do the species of the Dominion of the Black interact with the standard Pathfinder cosmology? Namely, what happens to their souls after they die?They work the exact same as any other living creature. Their souls go to the Boneyard and then end up getting judged and sent on as appropriate. Since the bulk of the Dominion of the Black follow unusual faiths that aren't really about worshiping deities but are more philosophies or the like, that means their souls generally go on to whatever outer plane matches their alignment. Whether they're punished or rewarded or turned into outsiders or become quintessence all depends on Pharasma.
They don't. As with all other living creatures, when a Dominion creature dies and its soul is judged, it loses all memories it had in life. By the time a dominion soul gets to Abaddon or wherever, it's a blank slate and has no information to feed the denizens there at all.
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Oh, we get to meet Shensen in Hell's Rebels? Cool, I've heard the name over and over again but not actually familiar with her.
So if the unannounced project is coming out in the same time frame as Strange Aeons, around what time would you guess us audience might get to know what it is? Next PaizoCon?
Oh, we get to meet Shensen in Hell's Rebels? Cool, I've heard the name over and over again but not actually familiar with her.
So if the unannounced project is coming out in the same time frame as Strange Aeons, around what time would you guess us audience might get to know what it is? Next PaizoCon?
Not only that... but she's the cover character for Pathfinder #100. I bought the original art for her from Wayne at Gen Con, and soon after I hit "Submit Post" here I'm off to the framing store to get her framed!
She's statted up in "NPC Guide" if you want a preview. Or just check out the avatar I used for this post, I guess!
I suspect we'll announce that other product before PaizoCon.
Hey James! Been an awfully long time. Due to many circumstances I've been out of gaming for the past few months, but getting right back into it soon! Just a few questions I've been stewing on...
1. Who wins a necromancy battle between these 3; Geb, Tar-Baphon or Zutha? Or, Gods forbid, would they just team up instead?
2. Is it just me, or does the picture of Nex in the Inner Sea Magic book look like Chris Tucker's character from The Fifth Element?
3. Which 'Bad guys win' scenario from the APs is the least bad for the people of Golarion, in your opinion?
4. Have the Dark Folk been on Golarion since before Earthfall?
5. Do the aboleths have any known influence in Tian Xia? Or is it just too far for them to be interested?
6. What's the strangest character you've ever run?
7. If you can divulge, which of the Runelords is the farthest from returning to power?
Thanks again for your hard work, hope Gen Con was fun!
I noticed you said that you didn't like Gen Con earlier. Why not?
I didn't love Dragon Con last year, my first major con. Crowds were awful. Also, Atlanta is a disgusting hole that smells like an open sewer downtown, is somehow even hotter than Florida, and has the worst traffic in America. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone tries to get you to go there.
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I noticed you said that you didn't like Gen Con earlier. Why not?
I didn't love Dragon Con last year, my first major con. Crowds were awful. Also, Atlanta is a disgusting hole that smells like an open sewer downtown, is somehow even hotter than Florida, and has the worst traffic in America. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone tries to get you to go there.
I don't like crowds. I don't enjoy Indianpolis. I miss my cat. It's too noisy. I don't like how it disrupts work flow and may day job. Lots of other reasons, but really... I just don't enjoy conventions much at all. It's pretty much 100% work for me. At least I managed to avoid the con crud this year.
I noticed you said that you didn't like Gen Con earlier. Why not?
I didn't love Dragon Con last year, my first major con. Crowds were awful. Also, Atlanta is a disgusting hole that smells like an open sewer downtown, is somehow even hotter than Florida, and has the worst traffic in America. Just thought I'd share that in case anyone tries to get you to go there.
I don't like crowds. I don't enjoy Indianpolis. I miss my cat. It's too noisy. I don't like how it disrupts work flow and may day job. Lots of other reasons, but really... I just don't enjoy conventions much at all. It's pretty much 100% work for me. At least I managed to avoid the con crud this year.
I'm not alone!
My fellow geeky friends look at me when I say I don't like Cons the same way most guys look at me when I say I don't like sports. Pretty much I agree with you on all of that (though I haven't been to Indianapolis).
Do you guys stream any of the PaizoCon stuff? If not, you should. I'm interested in Seattle, but not the crowds, the flight there and back, or the crud.
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Hey James! Been an awfully long time. Due to many circumstances I've been out of gaming for the past few months, but getting right back into it soon! Just a few questions I've been stewing on...
1. Who wins a necromancy battle between these 3; Geb, Tar-Baphon or Zutha? Or, Gods forbid, would they just team up instead?
2. Is it just me, or does the picture of Nex in the Inner Sea Magic book look like Chris Tucker's character from The Fifth Element?
3. Which 'Bad guys win' scenario from the APs is the least bad for the people of Golarion, in your opinion?
4. Have the Dark Folk been on Golarion since before Earthfall?
5. Do the aboleths have any known influence in Tian Xia? Or is it just too far for them to be interested?
6. What's the strangest character you've ever run?
7. If you can divulge, which of the Runelords is the farthest from returning to power?Thanks again for your hard work, hope Gen Con was fun!
1) Tar-Baphon.
2) I think it's just you.
3) Hmmm... probably Skull & Shackles.
4) Unrevealed.
5) Unrevealed... but probably.
6) An awakened flying deinonychus.
7) Unrevealed.
Do you guys stream any of the PaizoCon stuff? If not, you should. I'm interested in Seattle, but not the crowds, the flight there and back, or the crud.Nope; streaming video is not really something Paizo as a company is set up to do.
The Know Direction Podcast audio recorded most of the Paizocon discussion sessions. They are available as free special event podcasts.
James: Are you into podcasts? If so, which ones do you listen to?
Are antipaladins allowed to use the unsanctioned knowledge feat and how would you fix the Fearmonger Archetype?
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Do you guys stream any of the PaizoCon stuff? If not, you should. I'm interested in Seattle, but not the crowds, the flight there and back, or the crud.Nope; streaming video is not really something Paizo as a company is set up to do.The Know Direction Podcast audio recorded most of the Paizocon discussion sessions. They are available as free special event podcasts.
James: Are you into podcasts? If so, which ones do you listen to?
Not really into them, no.
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Are antipaladins allowed to use the unsanctioned knowledge feat and how would you fix the Fearmonger Archetype?
The first sounds like a rules question and as such should be asked on the rules forums so it can be FAQed.
The second is not something I can answer since I'm not the one who does archetypes and I'm not sure what that archetype is or why it might need to be fixed. I just don't use archetypes I don't like and that's that.
sorry
Have you seen the gameplay trailer for Dark Souls 3?Nope. I'm kinda not watching it on purpose. I know I'll play the game. I want to be surprised by as much as possible.
Someone used Red, Green, and Blue pixels in a coordinated fashion to create images.
Do you hate me now because I spoiled it for you?
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Have you seen the gameplay trailer for Dark Souls 3?Nope. I'm kinda not watching it on purpose. I know I'll play the game. I want to be surprised by as much as possible.Someone used Red, Green, and Blue pixels in a coordinated fashion to create images.
Do you hate me now because I spoiled it for you?
No... but I'm kinda annoyed at your silly post and can't quite figure out why you felt the need to make the post...
Which nations have the strongest armies in the Inner Sea region? Does any one nation stand out over the others in terms of military strength?
Hello, James
By PFU affliction rules, does the expousure to same disease stack? I had today a situation, when summoners eidolon was infected by filth fever twice in battle with otyugh, and I'm bit confused.
After all... this is the first AP I've written an entire adventure for since Jade Regent; that's not even something I set time aside to do for Wrath of the Righteous, nor is it something I'll be doing for Strange Aeons, as it turns out.
I quite enjoy your adventure writing. That's exciting!
Which volume will you be writing the adventure for?
Looking for Shensen in the PRD, but they only list class levels, not names. Is she not in the PRD?
Edit: Found a pic and representation on Pathfinder wiki with her as a bard 8/ fighter 4 of saranrae?
==Aelryinth
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Which nations have the strongest armies in the Inner Sea region? Does any one nation stand out over the others in terms of military strength?
We currently don't quantify army strength really, since that type of thing doesn't have robust rules yet. The strongest armies in the Inner Sea Region are likely Cheliax, Taldor, Andoran, Absalom, Katapesh, Qadira, Rahadoum, Linnorm Kingdoms, Mammoth Lords, and Mendev, I guess? Since the game doesn't really focus on mass combat though it's really kinda left to the individual GM to build on as she sees fit at this point though.
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Hello, James
By PFU affliction rules, does the expousure to same disease stack? I had today a situation, when summoners eidolon was infected by filth fever twice in battle with otyugh, and I'm bit confused.
PFU affliction rules? Pathfinder University rules? Protean Friends' Union? Private Flying Unicorn? Not sure what "PFU" stands for.
But no, multiple disease exposures don't stack, but I would say that they'd reset the saves you've made to recover naturally back to zero. But in the scope of a combat against, say, an otyugh... once you get the sick from it you can't get MORE sick in that same fight.
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After all... this is the first AP I've written an entire adventure for since Jade Regent; that's not even something I set time aside to do for Wrath of the Righteous, nor is it something I'll be doing for Strange Aeons, as it turns out.
I quite enjoy your adventure writing. That's exciting!
Which volume will you be writing the adventure for?
I wrote part four, "A Song of Silver," in Pathfinder #100.
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Looking for Shensen in the PRD, but they only list class levels, not names. Is she not in the PRD?
Edit: Found a pic and representation on Pathfinder wiki with her as a bard 8/ fighter 4 of saranrae?
==Aelryinth
Nope; she's not in the PRD. She was statted up in the NPC Guide, a softcover book we released several years ago, and with only a few exceptions (like the Technology Guide) we don't put the softcover books into the PRD.
Her stats will be in Pathifnder #100 as well, and yes, she's a bard 8(Dawnflower dervish)/fighter 4.
Looking for Shensen in the PRD, but they only list class levels, not names. Is she not in the PRD?
Edit: Found a pic and representation on Pathfinder wiki with her as a bard 8/ fighter 4 of saranrae?
==Aelryinth
Or... you could check my character profile for a little more info!
Hello, James
By PFU affliction rules, does the expousure to same disease stack? I had today a situation, when summoners eidolon was infected by filth fever twice in battle with otyugh, and I'm bit confused.PFU affliction rules? Pathfinder University rules? Protean Friends' Union? Private Flying Unicorn? Not sure what "PFU" stands for.
But no, multiple disease exposures don't stack, but I would say that they'd reset the saves you've made to recover naturally back to zero. But in the scope of a combat against, say, an otyugh... once you get the sick from it you can't get MORE sick in that same fight.
I think it stands for Pathfinder Unchained :-)
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I think it stands for Pathfinder Unchained :-)Hello, James
By PFU affliction rules, does the expousure to same disease stack? I had today a situation, when summoners eidolon was infected by filth fever twice in battle with otyugh, and I'm bit confused.PFU affliction rules? Pathfinder University rules? Protean Friends' Union? Private Flying Unicorn? Not sure what "PFU" stands for.
But no, multiple disease exposures don't stack, but I would say that they'd reset the saves you've made to recover naturally back to zero. But in the scope of a combat against, say, an otyugh... once you get the sick from it you can't get MORE sick in that same fight.
That'd explain why I didn't understand the context, since I haven't actually looked at Unchained that much... That's a much better question for the Design team than for me.
Hi James,
I may have missed something in my reading, so forgive me if this is already answered elsewhere, but...
What is the relationship between the cult of the Whispering Way and worshipers of Urgathoa? Are all followers of the WW worshipers of Urgathoa? There seems to be a distinction between the two groups, so what are the differences that separate them?
PCs in my campaign have already foiled a scheme by a cult of Urgathoa. Since then, I've started to develop a thread involving the Whispering Way. Could it make sense to combine these two groups? I fear that the Urgathoa plot will just get dropped otherwise as I don't really see the need for two such similar groups.
Thanks in advance for your answers!
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James,
Would it be safe to say that the vigilante class would be ideal for Hell's Rebels?
In theory, yes, but since the class is still being designed, and I'm pretty sure the design team hasn't had the chance to read the Hell's Rebels adventures, and I know I've not had a chance to look into the vigilante more than just to look it over to make sure the initial playtest won't break Hell's Rebel's design (at this point it does not seem to do that... whew!)...
...in fact, I can't say yet. Won't know for sure till the class is actually done being designed. Which, alas, will be after all six Hell's Rebels adventures will be in the can and off to the printer.
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Hi James,
I may have missed something in my reading, so forgive me if this is already answered elsewhere, but...
What is the relationship between the cult of the Whispering Way and worshipers of Urgathoa? Are all followers of the WW worshipers of Urgathoa? There seems to be a distinction between the two groups, so what are the differences that separate them?
PCs in my campaign have already foiled a scheme by a cult of Urgathoa. Since then, I've started to develop a thread involving the Whispering Way. Could it make sense to combine these two groups? I fear that the Urgathoa plot will just get dropped otherwise as I don't really see the need for two such similar groups.
Thanks in advance for your answers!
The Whispering Way and the faith of Urgathoa have a LOT of similarities, but they're as often competitors/enemies as they are allies.
Personally, I find it more interesting if the two don't really ally. This gives us a cool faith-based interpretation of an undead group and a cool arcane-based one, so that you can tell different stories.
What you do in your game, of course, is up to you.