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Cheers buddy!

Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.
Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?
None actually. I get too frustrated by the map packs, personally. I love the flip mats (and that's what I'd mistakenly thought you were initially asking about), but the map packs are too tiny and slide around too much for me to use much at all. I prefer bigger, more stable play surfaces like battlemats, tactiles, gaming paper, or flip mats for my games.

I was talking about the flip mats. I screwed up. Sorry.

Radiant Oath

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Who on Golarion has the most ostentatious pants?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Who on Golarion has the most ostentatious pants?

Got to be someone in Taldor...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Silver Surfer wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


1) Probably zero, since those deities are intended to be bad guy deities for bad guys to worship, and PFS doesn't allow bad guy PCs. Allowing non villain worshipers of the Great Old Ones/Outer Gods dilutes them in a way I find distasteful and unappealing.

But why? There are plenty of CE, LE, NE deities that are PFS legal?

James Jacobs wrote:


2) Probably never. That's a better question for the design team though, I suppose.

Bizarre....truly bizarre

I would love to be able to ask that question to a design team member if possible?

1) Because thematically it isn't appropriate. It's a case where what we want for the world and what we want for the PFS campaign trumps everything else.

2) Ask away on threads they look at—Jason has an ask me thread, as does Mark, and if you ask in the rules forums or send them a PM that might work as well.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lou Diamond wrote:

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between

major cities and towns?

That's not really something we've addressed at all. I could see services like this being offered in all of the more "civilized" nations, from Cheliax to Taldor to Brevoy to Geb. Not so much in the frontier regions like Varisia or River Kingdoms or Mwangi Expanse or Sargava.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.
Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?
None actually. I get too frustrated by the map packs, personally. I love the flip mats (and that's what I'd mistakenly thought you were initially asking about), but the map packs are too tiny and slide around too much for me to use much at all. I prefer bigger, more stable play surfaces like battlemats, tactiles, gaming paper, or flip mats for my games.
I was talking about the flip mats. I screwed up. Sorry.

In the case of flip mats, "Basic" is the one I use the most. Beyond that... I guess lately I've been using the generic forest and swamp ones a fair amount since that's the terrain my current group finds themselves in when they travel to and from the Temple of Elemental Evil and I want a wandering monster to mix it up.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Who on Golarion has the most ostentatious pants?

Probably the werecrocodile whose illustration ended up in Bestiary 4.

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Definitely the werecrocodile.


James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.
Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?
None actually. I get too frustrated by the map packs, personally. I love the flip mats (and that's what I'd mistakenly thought you were initially asking about), but the map packs are too tiny and slide around too much for me to use much at all. I prefer bigger, more stable play surfaces like battlemats, tactiles, gaming paper, or flip mats for my games.
I was talking about the flip mats. I screwed up. Sorry.
In the case of flip mats, "Basic" is the one I use the most. Beyond that... I guess lately I've been using the generic forest and swamp ones a fair amount since that's the terrain my current group finds themselves in when they travel to and from the Temple of Elemental Evil and I want a wandering monster to mix it up.

How is that game going? As I remember, you were essentially porting the monsters over directly to PF with little consideration for CR (?) Is that working out well?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Steve Geddes wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Do you use the Pathfinder Map Packs or are you more of a "draw it myself" guy?
Both.
Which Map Pack would you say is the one that gets the most milage at your games?
None actually. I get too frustrated by the map packs, personally. I love the flip mats (and that's what I'd mistakenly thought you were initially asking about), but the map packs are too tiny and slide around too much for me to use much at all. I prefer bigger, more stable play surfaces like battlemats, tactiles, gaming paper, or flip mats for my games.
I was talking about the flip mats. I screwed up. Sorry.
In the case of flip mats, "Basic" is the one I use the most. Beyond that... I guess lately I've been using the generic forest and swamp ones a fair amount since that's the terrain my current group finds themselves in when they travel to and from the Temple of Elemental Evil and I want a wandering monster to mix it up.
How is that game going? As I remember, you were essentially porting the monsters over directly to PF with little consideration for CR (?) Is that working out well?

Haven't played it in several weeks, alas, due to some absences and me being too worn out/depressed to run the game. Hope to get it back on schedule this coming Wednesday. The group's finished off the first dungeon level below the temple and are well into the 2nd level and have even explored a few rooms on the 3rd level.

And yes... I'm giving them the ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE. Which does mean that, even though they're all like 4th level, when the went into a room on level 2 and tinkered with a certain brazier, they DID end up fighting a powerful demon. They won, but only by spending like a dozen plot twist cards.


Cool. That's both one of my favorite modules and my favorite playstyle.

Really bummed to hear you're worn down at the moment - for what it's worth, some of the creative stuff coming out of Paizo recently has really been great (I'm really liking the Cheliax focus - you guys have always done that well). All that effort is appreciated on this side of the world. :)

Silver Crusade

:(

*offers hugs*

I too have been really, really enjoying what Paizo has been putting out lately :3

Silver Crusade Contributor

Same. I'm really excited for a lot of Paizo's current work!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'd also like to say that Paizo's recent stuff is really fun. I picked up Inner Sea Races and Distant Shores, and I'm really happy with them. Plus, Hell's Rebels is probably my second-favorite AP so far.

I do have a question, and it's my first one in this thread. Which region of Tian Xia would a gunslinger be most likely to hail from? I'm working on a character, and right now I'm leaning toward Amanandar or possibly Lingshen, but I'm not really sure and the Dragon Empires Primer isn't all that informative on the topic.


James Jacobs wrote:


1) Because thematically it isn't appropriate. It's a case where what we want for the world and what we want for the PFS campaign trumps everything else.

2) Ask away on threads they look at—Jason has an ask me thread, as does Mark, and if you ask in the rules forums or send them a PM that might work as well.

Much appreciated

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Aestereal wrote:
I do have a question, and it's my first one in this thread. Which region of Tian Xia would a gunslinger be most likely to hail from? I'm working on a character, and right now I'm leaning toward Amanandar or possibly Lingshen, but I'm not really sure and the Dragon Empires Primer isn't all that informative on the topic.

Probably Goka, but only because it's the most cosmopolitan part of the continent PLUS it's the one most likely to have visitors from Alkenstar. Guns aren't really a thing anywhere on Tian Xia, so they're otherwise equally rare not matter what, so any region is simultaneously the best and the worst choice, basically.

Dark Archive

Would you rather have Kendra Deverin or Jilia Bainilus as the political leader of somewhere you lived?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Lord Gadigan wrote:
Would you rather have Kendra Deverin or Jilia Bainilus as the political leader of somewhere you lived?

Hmmm... that's kind of a coin flip. I'd probably go with Kendra, though, since all other things being equal, I like her name better. It's easier to spell.


What do you think of one of my pet theories:

You can't compare Pathfinder and 5E because they have entirely different design philosophies.

Here's my reasoning: One of Albert Einstein's more famous quotes is that "you can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree." I believe that the same is true of RPGs. For example, trying to use Exalted to play a D&D style game will inevitably break down. And although 5E and Pathfinder have the same general "feels," their design philosophies are entirely different. Here's what I think:

  • Pathfinder sees the rules as a way to aid the roleplaying aspect of the game, and thus tries to make a rule for every possible situation as a way to simulate that particular situation.
  • 5E sees the rules as an obstruction to the roleplaying aspect to the game, and so it streamlines and "cuts the fat" from previous additions, in an attempt to make sure that players can freely roleplay and describe their actions with great detail without the DM feeling obligated to look up a specific rule.

Both of these design philosophies have their pros and cons, but they boil down to one simple fact: because the two systems are entirely different at their core, they can't really be compared to see which one is "better." One swims well, and one climbs well, so to speak.

What do you think?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

3 people marked this as a favorite.
The Doomkitten wrote:

What do you think of one of my pet theories:

You can't compare Pathfinder and 5E because they have entirely different design philosophies.

Here's my reasoning: One of Albert Einstein's more famous quotes is that "you can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree." I believe that the same is true of RPGs. For example, trying to use Exalted to play a D&D style game will inevitably break down. And although 5E and Pathfinder have the same general "feels," their design philosophies are entirely different. Here's what I think:

  • Pathfinder sees the rules as a way to aid the roleplaying aspect of the game, and thus tries to make a rule for every possible situation as a way to simulate that particular situation.
  • 5E sees the rules as an obstruction to the roleplaying aspect to the game, and so it streamlines and "cuts the fat" from previous additions, in an attempt to make sure that players can freely roleplay and describe their actions with great detail without the DM feeling obligated to look up a specific rule.

Both of these design philosophies have their pros and cons, but they boil down to one simple fact: because the two systems are entirely different at their core, they can't really be compared to see which one is "better." One swims well, and one climbs well, so to speak.

What do you think?

I think you CAN compare them, since they're both fundamentally the same—a fantasy tabletop RPG. Which one is better? Depends on your playstyle. And it's perfectly fine to play both.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Chipmunks in space?

Liberty's Edge

Do you get a free copy of everything Paizo puts out?

Does anyone?

Does Paizo HQ have a library where any employee can go borrow a flip-mat they need?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Chipmunks in space?

Simply putting a question mark at the end of three random words does not a question make.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Samy wrote:

Do you get a free copy of everything Paizo puts out?

Does anyone?

Does Paizo HQ have a library where any employee can go borrow a flip-mat they need?

Yes. At least one free copy. Sometimes more.

Whether or not EVERYONE at Paizo gets free copies, I can't say, but it's my understanding that yes, we all do. I could be wrong, and if I am, and someone from Paizo gets sad that I'm mistaken, I apologize!

We have a conference room that contains a library of all the products we produce but the rate at which we produce often means that the library falls behind in keeping up with being up-to-date, but yes, everyone's got copies they can borrow. Furthermore, down in the editorial/development/design/art parts of the building, there are many more reference copies at hand. We DO need copies of our own books to reference in order to build more, after all.


James Jacobs wrote:
Lou Diamond wrote:

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between

major cities and towns?
That's not really something we've addressed at all. I could see services like this being offered in all of the more "civilized" nations, from Cheliax to Taldor to Brevoy to Geb. Not so much in the frontier regions like Varisia or River Kingdoms or Mwangi Expanse or Sargava.

How about from places like Geb? Would coach service over the mana wastes be something you'd see as viable or do you think most traffic would be by sea via Quantium?

Liberty's Edge

James Jacobs wrote:

Yes. At least one free copy. Sometimes more.

Whether or not EVERYONE at Paizo gets free copies, I can't say, but it's my understanding that yes, we all do. I could be wrong, and if I am, and someone from Paizo gets sad that I'm mistaken, I apologize!

Do you guys take them home? Like, all of the guys who get free copies have basically a Paizo backup library at their homes with every single product? Or is it common for guys to turn down stuff because they don't want to drown their homes in product?


James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Chipmunks in space?
Simply putting a question mark at the end of three random words does not a question make.

Are you sure?

:P

Do you pay attention to upcoming technology? Like prototypes and ideas in development or even heading into production? If so, what 'new' technology are you most excited for?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Lou Diamond wrote:

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between

major cities and towns?
That's not really something we've addressed at all. I could see services like this being offered in all of the more "civilized" nations, from Cheliax to Taldor to Brevoy to Geb. Not so much in the frontier regions like Varisia or River Kingdoms or Mwangi Expanse or Sargava.
How about from places like Geb? Would coach service over the mana wastes be something you'd see as viable or do you think most traffic would be by sea via Quantium?

The type of coaches you might see in Geb are not only not the type that anyone would want running around in their nation (being undead themed), but also would likely not mix well with conditions in the Mana Wastes at all (being magical). Furthermore, with there being a sort of cold war between Nex and Geb... I really doubt EITHER nation wants "easy access" between the two to be a thing.

AKA: Most of the traffic between Nex and Geb is clandestine or secret or off the books.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Samy wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

Yes. At least one free copy. Sometimes more.

Whether or not EVERYONE at Paizo gets free copies, I can't say, but it's my understanding that yes, we all do. I could be wrong, and if I am, and someone from Paizo gets sad that I'm mistaken, I apologize!

Do you guys take them home? Like, all of the guys who get free copies have basically a Paizo backup library at their homes with every single product? Or is it common for guys to turn down stuff because they don't want to drown their homes in product?

Some folks take them home; others do not. I keep all mine here at the office because that's where I use them the most. The only time I really need a Pathfinder book at home is if I'm freelancing, and in those cases, since I live like half a mile away from where I work, it's easy enough to grab the books I need and bring them home.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Tels wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Chipmunks in space?
Simply putting a question mark at the end of three random words does not a question make.

Are you sure?

:P

Do you pay attention to upcoming technology? Like prototypes and ideas in development or even heading into production? If so, what 'new' technology are you most excited for?

I am indeed sure. The three words "are, you, and sure" are not random choices.

I am always intrigued by new technology, but not to the extent that I spend much time watching for it. At this point, I'm pretty intrigued about advances in space travel, but as I grow older, I find myself equally if not more intrigued by advances in health.

Liberty's Edge

James Jacobs wrote:
The only time I really need a Pathfinder book at home is if I'm freelancing

You don't play the game at home?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Samy wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The only time I really need a Pathfinder book at home is if I'm freelancing
You don't play the game at home?

Nope. My apartment's too small to really do well at hosting a game. When I play the game these days, it's pretty much always in the conference room here at Paizo, which has the advantage of not only having a huge table capable of seating 10 people while still having enough room for a big map on the table, but also has the entire collection of books right there on the shelf so I don't have to carry any books other than whatever adventure I happen to be running to the table.

Liberty's Edge

That's kind of awesome to have that at your disposal, but then, I guess that makes sense considering your position.

I was going to ask about 'you probably have keys to access the building 24/7', but then I figured that might come off wrong. Maybe I've watched too many heist movies. :D

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Chipmunks in space?
Simply putting a question mark at the end of three random words does not a question make.

I'm running out of question ideas! What do I do?!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Samy wrote:

That's kind of awesome to have that at your disposal, but then, I guess that makes sense considering your position.

I was going to ask about 'you probably have keys to access the building 24/7', but then I figured that might come off wrong. Maybe I've watched too many heist movies. :D

Everyone at Paizo has access to the building 24/7 pretty much. That goes for using the conference room to run games. You just need to "claim" it by setting it up as a "meeting" and you're good to go—it's kind of on a first come, first served basis.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
Chipmunks in space?
Simply putting a question mark at the end of three random words does not a question make.
I'm running out of question ideas! What do I do?!

Buy a little notebook and keep it in your pocket and as new questions come to you during the day, jot them down. Once you hit 10 or 20 or whatever, you'll have a new stash to ask.

Liberty's Edge

Would you say that the Paizo building feels like home to you?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Samy wrote:
Would you say that the Paizo building feels like home to you?

I (and a few others) have accidentally said, "I'll take care of that when I get back home" when in fact what I meant to say was, "I'll take care of that when I get back to the office." SO, on one level, I suppose the building does feel like home.

That said, I also feel like if you mix work life and home life too much, then you don't really have a difference between the two, and suddenly, EVERYTHING is work, and thus when you have a bad day at work or things are stressful at work, home is not a place you can go to to escape from the bad day or stress of work. It's an unhealthy place to be—and I've been there far too much over the past 12 years or so, and for the past few years I've been trying really really hard to NOT blur those lines. The fact that we've finally got enough developers on staff that we can develop or books without having to work 70 hour weeks is a big part of realizing that luxury—the division of work and home.

So today, I actually would NOT say that the Paizo building feels like home.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Do you think the messageboards contribute to that blurring also? (Like does posting on this thread after hours feel like work to you? Or is it more just a consequence of being part of the community - albeit a celebrity?)

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
Samy wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The only time I really need a Pathfinder book at home is if I'm freelancing
You don't play the game at home?
Nope. My apartment's too small to really do well at hosting a game. When I play the game these days, it's pretty much always in the conference room here at Paizo, which has the advantage of not only having a huge table capable of seating 10 people while still having enough room for a big map on the table, but also has the entire collection of books right there on the shelf so I don't have to carry any books other than whatever adventure I happen to be running to the table.

Does the conference room have a library of miniatures as well?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Fox wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Samy wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
The only time I really need a Pathfinder book at home is if I'm freelancing
You don't play the game at home?
Nope. My apartment's too small to really do well at hosting a game. When I play the game these days, it's pretty much always in the conference room here at Paizo, which has the advantage of not only having a huge table capable of seating 10 people while still having enough room for a big map on the table, but also has the entire collection of books right there on the shelf so I don't have to carry any books other than whatever adventure I happen to be running to the table.
Does the conference room have a library of miniatures as well?

Yes... although it's more like a stack. They're not organized at all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Steve Geddes wrote:
Do you think the messageboards contribute to that blurring also? (Like does posting on this thread after hours feel like work to you? Or is it more just a consequence of being part of the community - albeit a celebrity?)

They do.


James Jacobs wrote:
DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Lou Diamond wrote:

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between

major cities and towns?
That's not really something we've addressed at all. I could see services like this being offered in all of the more "civilized" nations, from Cheliax to Taldor to Brevoy to Geb. Not so much in the frontier regions like Varisia or River Kingdoms or Mwangi Expanse or Sargava.
How about from places like Geb? Would coach service over the mana wastes be something you'd see as viable or do you think most traffic would be by sea via Quantium?

The type of coaches you might see in Geb are not only not the type that anyone would want running around in their nation (being undead themed), but also would likely not mix well with conditions in the Mana Wastes at all (being magical). Furthermore, with there being a sort of cold war between Nex and Geb... I really doubt EITHER nation wants "easy access" between the two to be a thing.

AKA: Most of the traffic between Nex and Geb is clandestine or secret or off the books.

I was thinking mostly for people passing through Geb from the south making their way north either to Nex or beyond. I can certainly imagine that any traffic of the like would be off the books or highly scrutinized like non-citizen traffic through Soviet Russia, and I was curious if you even thought it was plausible or if anyone with half a brain would simply take to the sea until they hit a major trading hub.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Lou Diamond wrote:

James,which if any Inner sea countries have regular coach service between

major cities and towns?
That's not really something we've addressed at all. I could see services like this being offered in all of the more "civilized" nations, from Cheliax to Taldor to Brevoy to Geb. Not so much in the frontier regions like Varisia or River Kingdoms or Mwangi Expanse or Sargava.
How about from places like Geb? Would coach service over the mana wastes be something you'd see as viable or do you think most traffic would be by sea via Quantium?

The type of coaches you might see in Geb are not only not the type that anyone would want running around in their nation (being undead themed), but also would likely not mix well with conditions in the Mana Wastes at all (being magical). Furthermore, with there being a sort of cold war between Nex and Geb... I really doubt EITHER nation wants "easy access" between the two to be a thing.

AKA: Most of the traffic between Nex and Geb is clandestine or secret or off the books.

I was thinking mostly for people passing through Geb from the south making their way north either to Nex or beyond. I can certainly imagine that any traffic of the like would be off the books or highly scrutinized like non-citizen traffic through Soviet Russia, and I was curious if you even thought it was plausible or if anyone with half a brain would simply take to the sea until they hit a major trading hub.

Geb is NOT a friendly place. People don't just "pass through Gem" from the south, PARTICULARLY because the nation just south of Geb is at war/an enemy of Geb. Geb's position more or less is what kinda keeps that more southern region from wanting to interact with the north much at all—they trade with neighbors to their south and west and pretty much don't do much travel north into Geb at all.

I suspect that most idle travelers into Geb get caught and turned into undead slaves.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

So, you're known in much of the D&D community for creating one of the most notorious monsters in all of 3.5: the Monstrous Crab, which was released as an official web extension along with two other monsters.

I have two questions related to the Monstrous Crab:

1. Many people feel that the Monstrous Crab is too powerful for a CR 3 monster. Do you share this view, or do you think it is about the right strength for its challenge rating?
2. That article was published more than 11 years ago. In that time, your position in the industry, as well as the kinds of products you work on, has changed a lot. Looking back at it and your other early work, do you still feel proud about it? Do you feel it no longer lives up to your current quality standards? Or is it a mix?


James Jacobs wrote:


Geb is NOT a friendly place. People don't just "pass through Gem" from the south, PARTICULARLY because the nation just south of Geb is at war/an enemy of Geb. Geb's position more or less is what kinda keeps that more southern region from wanting to interact with the north much at all—they trade with neighbors to their south and west and pretty much don't do much travel north into Geb at all.

I suspect that most idle travelers into Geb get caught and turned into undead slaves.

Ah, so while Geb has trade relations with other nations, that courtesy ends at their ports?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

137ben wrote:

So, you're known in much of the D&D community for creating one of the most notorious monsters in all of 3.5: the Monstrous Crab, which was released as an official web extension along with two other monsters.

I have two questions related to the Monstrous Crab:

1. Many people feel that the Monstrous Crab is too powerful for a CR 3 monster. Do you share this view, or do you think it is about the right strength for its challenge rating?
2. That article was published more than 11 years ago. In that time, your position in the industry, as well as the kinds of products you work on, has changed a lot. Looking back at it and your other early work, do you still feel proud about it? Do you feel it no longer lives up to your current quality standards? Or is it a mix?

Ha. I had absolutely no idea that the monstrous crab was so notorious.

1) I haven't had my head in the 3.5 CR system for over a decade, so I don't really know off the top of my head if it seems too powerful or too wimpy. Looking at its numbers and comparing them to Pathfinder's much more exact and trustworthy CR system, I would absolutely agree that it's too powerful and would suggest that folks use the Pathfinder Bestiary version of the monster. Design theory for building vermin in 3.5 was VERY different than it is today in Pathfinder, which has the advantage of having something like twenty years, at this point, of design evolution.

2) I'm proud of that web series of articles, as I am of most of my work for D&D. But as it turns out, over a decade of professional design where I'm doing this day in and day out does mean that I'm better at game design today than I was back in 2004 when that article went live. As for whether or not it lives up to my current personal quality standards? No, it doesn't, but frankly, neither does the 3.5 system itself.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


Geb is NOT a friendly place. People don't just "pass through Gem" from the south, PARTICULARLY because the nation just south of Geb is at war/an enemy of Geb. Geb's position more or less is what kinda keeps that more southern region from wanting to interact with the north much at all—they trade with neighbors to their south and west and pretty much don't do much travel north into Geb at all.

I suspect that most idle travelers into Geb get caught and turned into undead slaves.

Ah, so while Geb has trade relations with other nations, that courtesy ends at their ports?

Geb's "trade relations" don't "end at their ports." They're specific agreements with nations who have orchestrated those agreements and follow specific rules and the like. They aren't casual, nor are they generally the type of relations a non-evil nation would have. Geb is one of the most evil of ALL the Inner Sea nations, and it's made up mostly of things that don't need to eat or drink to survive. The very concept of "trade relations" in Geb are alien to pretty much any other nation as a result. They don't import any food, really. They don't export much but fear and malice.

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
DebugAMP wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


Geb is NOT a friendly place. People don't just "pass through Gem" from the south, PARTICULARLY because the nation just south of Geb is at war/an enemy of Geb. Geb's position more or less is what kinda keeps that more southern region from wanting to interact with the north much at all—they trade with neighbors to their south and west and pretty much don't do much travel north into Geb at all.

I suspect that most idle travelers into Geb get caught and turned into undead slaves.

Ah, so while Geb has trade relations with other nations, that courtesy ends at their ports?
Geb's "trade relations" don't "end at their ports." They're specific agreements with nations who have orchestrated those agreements and follow specific rules and the like. They aren't casual, nor are they generally the type of relations a non-evil nation would have. Geb is one of the most evil of ALL the Inner Sea nations, and it's made up mostly of things that don't need to eat or drink to survive. The very concept of "trade relations" in Geb are alien to pretty much any other nation as a result. They don't import any food, really. They don't export much but fear and malice.

I'm wondering if part of the confusion lies in books (I can't remember which) that say essentially "No one LIKES Geb, but they let them hang around because they need the cheap wheat their zombies grow" and that Geb is a major food exporter since its people have no need to eat themselves. Is that correct, or am I misremembering?

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