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Paizo Employee Creative Director

thegreenteagamer wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
If a nagaji and a half-orc walk into a bar in Absolom, who has the better bar story to share and why?

The nagaji, because with his bonus to Charisma, he's more likely to be a good story teller.

...but the half-orc could have put his floating +2 bonus into Charisma. Who then?

Yay for moving goal posts!

Still the nagaji, because I like them a bazillion times better than half-orcs.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Zhangar wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Joana wrote:


Is there a temple to the Tarrasque anywhere in Golarion? That is, does anyone worship it rather than Rovagug?

Would you say that a herald of a differing alignment would be more likely to have its own church (assuming it's already out of the ordinary in being capable of granting spells) than one whose alignment matches the "main" deity?

Nope; no Tarrasque temples. He can't grant spells, for one.

There are certainly those out there who do worship the Tarrasque (or any of the other spawn), and these are most likely oracles or non-divine spellcasters, but they're also loners and individuals. A cult of Tarrasque worshipers is a cool idea for an adventure, but until someone writes that adventure, such a cult doesn't currently exist in the game.

A herald with an alignment different than their deity would be EXCEEDINGLY rare. Iomedae's the only one I can think of, in fact.

Would pre-lich Arazni be another example? I was under the impression she was lawful good back before Tar-Baphon and Geb happened to her.

I'm not sure we ever nailed down her pre-lich alignment. If we HAVE, then yes, that would obviously be another example, and that would say more about Aroden and his penchant for selecting heralds who don't exactly follow his creed and words, perhaps because he valued having somewhat opposing viewpoints to help keep his own convictions constantly tested.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Lou Diamond wrote:
James, why hasn't the Star Titan sought out Geb and laid waste to it?

'Cause the Star Titan is on the other side of the world from Geb and doesn't even know what a Geb is and on top of that isn't all that smart, and beyond THAT is too busy fighting King Mogaru.


With the following pieces of information, how much more free time will be eaten by a rad-mutated timeroach:

-It has been rumored that the map will be THREE TIMES the size of Skyrim.

-Actual voice acting! Plus, some NPCs will refer to your character by name!

-You can interrupt conversations by shooting people in the face!

-Another dog!

-A better VATS system!

-Being able to build your own house!

Once I get it, I don't believe anybody will ever see me again.


Hey James, I got a couple questions (that I haven't seen answered but there are over 1,000 pages here heh, so I apologize) but:

1. Paladins and Oaths

Do the Paladins get Oath slots for these spells, or do they just add them to their spell lists? If the latter, why give some Paladins some spells that they already have with oaths?

2. Oracles: Mystery "Nature's Whisper"

Nature's Whisper allows for the use of Charisma bonus in place of Dexterity bonus, but, unlike the other two mysteries that do this (both of which specifically state that they are subjected to the armor's dexterity restriction) Nature's Whisper doesn't. So does that mean someone with Nature's Whisper wearing armor that allows only a +1 or a +3 Dexterity Bonus can still use their full Charisma Modifier with this Mystery?


James Jacobs wrote:

I'd say the three most vile groups would be:

Cult of Socothbenoth: Read up about this demon lord and that should make my choice clear.

Not to me!

It's pretty hard to see how a violent rapist (I'll throw in likely fan of bestiality) is more "vile" than a pusher of deformed babies (Lamashtu), sadistic torturers (Andirifkhu), rot and parasites and vermin (Cyth-V'sug, Deskari, and Mazmezz), corpse eaters and lovers (Kabriri), just plain violent murder (Shax), brainwashing/frightening children in orphanages (Shivaska), hopeless despair and suicide (Sifkesh), or cannibalism (Zura).

And the only difference between Socothbenoth and Nocticula seems to be that the former will take what he wants, while the latter will trick or manipulate you into it, leaving you feeling betrayed right before she likely murders you.

So what other than a personal preference for rot, deformation, etc. over rape makes you think Socothbenoth is so beyond the pale?


That question is gonna lead to some ooc text and a missing post, if I'm ant judge...


Hey James, thanks for taking the time to do this, i have a question that has stirred a bit of a debate at my table.

Does Robe of Arcane Heritage improve the bloodline powers of a character that has taken Eldritch Heritage feat? If its any distinction i am playing an oracle.

Thanks for reading!!

P.S. If windows versions keep going up will we eventually see the return of windows 95?

Radiant Oath

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

What is with this neo-Luddite attitude you see among "counter-culture" artists and the like, basically shouting "Wake up, sheeple! Smartphones are preventing us from making awkward small-talk with total strangers on our daily commute and fat people are everywhere! The future of mankind is at stake here!"?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:


What it would say about a community who would choose to worship Iomedae rather than Aroden, mostly, would be that the community is more kindly and good-natured than would be comfortable worshiping Aroden. Remember—he was lawful neutral. He was not a good god, and that rubs a fair number of folk the wrong way, especially in areas like Trunau that are constantly beset upon by evil forces. Makes sense that they'd turn to someone more capable and WILLING to help them than a god more interested in history and innovation than in...

Wasn't he also kind of a bit of a human supremacist/purist as well? In Confirmation,

Spoiler:
The gillman oracle you meet will talk a lot about the worship of Aroden, but he's clearly far from regretful that the Arodenite temple along with Aroden's worship is going to pot as it seems very clear that Aroden had no truck with near-humans.
So he might not have had that much appeal in more mixed communities?
Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:

With the following pieces of information, how much more free time will be eaten by a rad-mutated timeroach:

-It has been rumored that the map will be THREE TIMES the size of Skyrim.

-Actual voice acting! Plus, some NPCs will refer to your character by name!

-You can interrupt conversations by shooting people in the face!

-Another dog!

-A better VATS system!

-Being able to build your own house!

Once I get it, I don't believe anybody will ever see me again.

I doubt that they'll include "Shensen" as one of the voiced names the NPCs speak, alas.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

HWalsh wrote:

Hey James, I got a couple questions (that I haven't seen answered but there are over 1,000 pages here heh, so I apologize) but:

1. Paladins and Oaths

Do the Paladins get Oath slots for these spells, or do they just add them to their spell lists? If the latter, why give some Paladins some spells that they already have with oaths?

2. Oracles: Mystery "Nature's Whisper"

Nature's Whisper allows for the use of Charisma bonus in place of Dexterity bonus, but, unlike the other two mysteries that do this (both of which specifically state that they are subjected to the armor's dexterity restriction) Nature's Whisper doesn't. So does that mean someone with Nature's Whisper wearing armor that allows only a +1 or a +3 Dexterity Bonus can still use their full Charisma Modifier with this Mystery?

These questions, being questions about rules content from the hardcovers, should be asked in the rules forum so that they can get FAQed and the designers will see them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Slithery D wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

I'd say the three most vile groups would be:

Cult of Socothbenoth: Read up about this demon lord and that should make my choice clear.

Not to me!

It's pretty hard to see how a violent rapist (I'll throw in likely fan of bestiality) is more "vile" than a pusher of deformed babies (Lamashtu), sadistic torturers (Andirifkhu), rot and parasites and vermin (Cyth-V'sug, Deskari, and Mazmezz), corpse eaters and lovers (Kabriri), just plain violent murder (Shax), brainwashing/frightening children in orphanages (Shivaska), hopeless despair and suicide (Sifkesh), or cannibalism (Zura).

And the only difference between Socothbenoth and Nocticula seems to be that the former will take what he wants, while the latter will trick or manipulate you into it, leaving you feeling betrayed right before she likely murders you.

So what other than a personal preference for rot, deformation, etc. over rape makes you think Socothbenoth is so beyond the pale?

I'm not really interested in turning this thread into "Is rape the worst or not?" To me... rape is pretty much the worst thing that someone can do.

And since the question was asked of me, I answered it as such. What's "vile" to person A is not equally "vile" to person B, and arguments about which is "right" are a waste of time.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

luis alvarez wrote:

Hey James, thanks for taking the time to do this, i have a question that has stirred a bit of a debate at my table.

Does Robe of Arcane Heritage improve the bloodline powers of a character that has taken Eldritch Heritage feat? If its any distinction i am playing an oracle.

Thanks for reading!!

P.S. If windows versions keep going up will we eventually see the return of windows 95?

Rules questions should be asked in the rules forums so that they can be FAQed and so that the designers know they need to deal with it.

Yes.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LazarX wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


What it would say about a community who would choose to worship Iomedae rather than Aroden, mostly, would be that the community is more kindly and good-natured than would be comfortable worshiping Aroden. Remember—he was lawful neutral. He was not a good god, and that rubs a fair number of folk the wrong way, especially in areas like Trunau that are constantly beset upon by evil forces. Makes sense that they'd turn to someone more capable and WILLING to help them than a god more interested in history and innovation than in...

Wasn't he also kind of a bit of a human supremacist/purist as well? In Confirmation, ** spoiler omitted ** So he might not have had that much appeal in more mixed communities?

Folks who want to know more about Aroden don't have to wait much longer; Erik Mona, who invented him, wrote an article about him in the upcoming 100th volume of Pathfinder. Aroden questions, being "Erik" questions, are better asked of Erik, and chances are that some of those questions are already answered in that volume's article.

So... have a little more patience and perhaps the answers will reveal themselves! (AKA: I'm not the Aroden expert. Erik is. I could make up more answers, but I'd rather let Erik make up those answers.)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
What is with this neo-Luddite attitude you see among "counter-culture" artists and the like, basically shouting "Wake up, sheeple! Smartphones are preventing us from making awkward small-talk with total strangers on our daily commute and fat people are everywhere! The future of mankind is at stake here!"?

Fear of technology. It's always been here, and tends to settle in the older one gets, because the advance of technology is generally faster than the average person's ability to keep up with said advance.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Archpaladin Zousha wrote:
What is with this neo-Luddite attitude you see among "counter-culture" artists and the like, basically shouting "Wake up, sheeple! Smartphones are preventing us from making awkward small-talk with total strangers on our daily commute and fat people are everywhere! The future of mankind is at stake here!"?
Fear of technology. It's always been here, and tends to settle in the older one gets, because the advance of technology is generally faster than the average person's ability to keep up with said advance.

It should be noted that the Luddites didn't fear technology as much as the very correct fear that advances were going to take their jobs away.

There was a time after all when the word computer referred to a person whose job it was to tabulate numbers.


James Jacobs wrote:
HWalsh wrote:

Hey James, I got a couple questions (that I haven't seen answered but there are over 1,000 pages here heh, so I apologize) but:

1. Paladins and Oaths

Do the Paladins get Oath slots for these spells, or do they just add them to their spell lists? If the latter, why give some Paladins some spells that they already have with oaths?

2. Oracles: Mystery "Nature's Whisper"

Nature's Whisper allows for the use of Charisma bonus in place of Dexterity bonus, but, unlike the other two mysteries that do this (both of which specifically state that they are subjected to the armor's dexterity restriction) Nature's Whisper doesn't. So does that mean someone with Nature's Whisper wearing armor that allows only a +1 or a +3 Dexterity Bonus can still use their full Charisma Modifier with this Mystery?

These questions, being questions about rules content from the hardcovers, should be asked in the rules forum so that they can get FAQed and the designers will see them.

It has been... Like for a really long time... Still nothing. At the least can you prod those guys?


1) Who came up with the lilitu demon in Campaign Setting: The Worldwound? I think they're really neat.

2) What do lilitu brands look like? The symbol of the demon lord they serve or something?

3) Are their horns supposed to come out of where their eyes would be, or be more like "regular" horns and leave the eye area totally blank? The art for the one in The Worldwound differs from Minagho in WotR. Or is this an example of their appearances differing depending on who they serve.

P.S. I'll give someone cash money to make more half-demon templates including a half-lilitu.
P.P.S. We need more Abraxas.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

HWalsh wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
HWalsh wrote:

Hey James, I got a couple questions (that I haven't seen answered but there are over 1,000 pages here heh, so I apologize) but:

1. Paladins and Oaths

Do the Paladins get Oath slots for these spells, or do they just add them to their spell lists? If the latter, why give some Paladins some spells that they already have with oaths?

2. Oracles: Mystery "Nature's Whisper"

Nature's Whisper allows for the use of Charisma bonus in place of Dexterity bonus, but, unlike the other two mysteries that do this (both of which specifically state that they are subjected to the armor's dexterity restriction) Nature's Whisper doesn't. So does that mean someone with Nature's Whisper wearing armor that allows only a +1 or a +3 Dexterity Bonus can still use their full Charisma Modifier with this Mystery?

These questions, being questions about rules content from the hardcovers, should be asked in the rules forum so that they can get FAQed and the designers will see them.
It has been... Like for a really long time... Still nothing. At the least can you prod those guys?

My prods don't work on them, unfortunately.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alset wrote:

1) Who came up with the lilitu demon in Campaign Setting: The Worldwound? I think they're really neat.

2) What do lilitu brands look like? The symbol of the demon lord they serve or something?

3) Are their horns supposed to come out of where their eyes would be, or be more like "regular" horns and leave the eye area totally blank? The art for the one in The Worldwound differs from Minagho in WotR. Or is this an example of their appearances differing depending on who they serve.

P.S. I'll give someone cash money to make more half-demon templates including a half-lilitu.
P.P.S. We need more Abraxas.

1) I did. Glad you like them!

2) They can look like anything. The symbol of the demon lord they serve works, but they can just as easily look like any sort of tattoo or mark.

3) Minagho's art is on-model. They have no eyes, and horns that come out of the sides of their heads. The art in the Worldwound book is incorrect; a fair amount of the art in that book's bestiary was unfortunately late and had issues that we didn't have the time to correct before print.

Grand Lodge

If you were going to give Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings a very general CR what might they be?


Why don't people just ask their GM's these rules questions they're so obsessed about?

Why don't GM's make a call, PFS notwithstanding?


Ok long post but sure you will enjoy it

Firstly want to thank you for adding the Great Auk to the species that exist in Golarion. It actually almost seems prescient on your behalf. (Even if the species was harmless combat wise).

My husband has aside project with an archeologist friend of his (my husband is a seabird biologist highly studied in the alcidae, puffins razorbills Great Auk *extinct*). Anyway his archeologist friend was studying in newfoundland digging through old midden (garbage heap) sights around known viking colonies. And he found out along with the predictable fish and large birds, they hate a huge amount of Great Auk. He coordinated with other archeologists in Iceland andScandinavia. And it seemed vikings wherever they went in the north ate this bird as it was a very large bird and was flightless. So I guess it turns out we know what a traveling northern vikings favorite meal was :P

But now to the question. As certain viking tails about sea serpents and other nasty creatures they encountered come up. It is speculated that one species they very likely did come in contact with was the Giant Squid. As their bodies do periodically wash up in the North sea and the North Atlantic ocean. But they seem to almost exclusively come to the surface after or near death. Do you think the vikings did encounter a giant squid? And if so do you really think they fought the thing or simply encountered a dead or dying specimen and embellished there stories about it to seem more heroic?

Silver Crusade Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alset wrote:
P.P.S. We need more Abraxas.

Sorry for posting in Mr. Jacobs' thread (it is forbidden), but your account doesn't have PMs enabled.

You should check out these products, if you haven't already:

Second Darkness Adventure Path
Pathfinder Online: Thornkeep
Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon

Mr. Jacobs:

1: Can we expect to learn more about Ayavah's ancestry and history at some point? I'd love to know how she came to be who - and what - she is today.

2: What would it take for you to side with Hellknights over CG revolutionaries?

3: How far back does your video gaming history go? What system did you really get serious with, as a gamer?

Thank you! ^_^

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Therrux wrote:
If you were going to give Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings a very general CR what might they be?

I wouldn't. They're player characters, and PCs don't get CRs.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

thegreenteagamer wrote:

Why don't people just ask their GM's these rules questions they're so obsessed about?

Why don't GM's make a call, PFS notwithstanding?

You'd have to ask them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Minis Maniac wrote:

Ok long post but sure you will enjoy it

Firstly want to thank you for adding the Great Auk to the species that exist in Golarion. It actually almost seems prescient on your behalf. (Even if the species was harmless combat wise).

My husband has aside project with an archeologist friend of his (my husband is a seabird biologist highly studied in the alcidae, puffins razorbills Great Auk *extinct*). Anyway his archeologist friend was studying in newfoundland digging through old midden (garbage heap) sights around known viking colonies. And he found out along with the predictable fish and large birds, they hate a huge amount of Great Auk. He coordinated with other archeologists in Iceland andScandinavia. And it seemed vikings wherever they went in the north ate this bird as it was a very large bird and was flightless. So I guess it turns out we know what a traveling northern vikings favorite meal was :P

But now to the question. As certain viking tails about sea serpents and other nasty creatures they encountered come up. It is speculated that one species they very likely did come in contact with was the Giant Squid. As their bodies do periodically wash up in the North sea and the North Atlantic ocean. But they seem to almost exclusively come to the surface after or near death. Do you think the vikings did encounter a giant squid? And if so do you really think they fought the thing or simply encountered a dead or dying specimen and embellished there stories about it to seem more heroic?

I actually had nothing really to do with the great auk showing up. Turns out, though, that Paizo's got a pretty good hivemind type thing going; it's one of the main reasons we don't do telecommuting and require all of our developers and editors to be in-house. Glad you enjoyed that auk though! :D

And I absolutely think that the vikings knew about and encountered giant squids. And I certainly think it's possible they fought one.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Kalindlara wrote:

1: Can we expect to learn more about Ayavah's ancestry and history at some point? I'd love to know how she came to be who - and what - she is today.

2: What would it take for you to side with Hellknights over CG revolutionaries?

3: How far back does your video gaming history go? What system did you really get serious with, as a gamer?

Thank you! ^_^

1) Yes. Absoultely. Likely rather soon, in fact. But not ALL questions will be answered...

2) A lobotomy.

3) Atari 2600. Yeah. I'm old.


James Jacobs wrote:
The Minis Maniac wrote:

Ok long post but sure you will enjoy it

Firstly want to thank you for adding the Great Auk to the species that exist in Golarion. It actually almost seems prescient on your behalf. (Even if the species was harmless combat wise).

My husband has aside project with an archeologist friend of his (my husband is a seabird biologist highly studied in the alcidae, puffins razorbills Great Auk *extinct*). Anyway his archeologist friend was studying in newfoundland digging through old midden (garbage heap) sights around known viking colonies. And he found out along with the predictable fish and large birds, they hate a huge amount of Great Auk. He coordinated with other archeologists in Iceland andScandinavia. And it seemed vikings wherever they went in the north ate this bird as it was a very large bird and was flightless. So I guess it turns out we know what a traveling northern vikings favorite meal was :P

But now to the question. As certain viking tails about sea serpents and other nasty creatures they encountered come up. It is speculated that one species they very likely did come in contact with was the Giant Squid. As their bodies do periodically wash up in the North sea and the North Atlantic ocean. But they seem to almost exclusively come to the surface after or near death. Do you think the vikings did encounter a giant squid? And if so do you really think they fought the thing or simply encountered a dead or dying specimen and embellished there stories about it to seem more heroic?

I actually had nothing really to do with the great auk showing up. Turns out, though, that Paizo's got a pretty good hivemind type thing going; it's one of the main reasons we don't do telecommuting and require all of our developers and editors to be in-house. Glad you enjoyed that auk though! :D

And I absolutely think that the vikings knew about and encountered giant squids. And I certainly think it's possible they fought one.

Whats not to love Great Auks were the northern hemispheres closest thing to a penguin. :P


Who is more vile: Socothbenoth, or Zepar? And why?


AlgaeNymph wrote:
Who is more vile: Socothbenoth, or Zepar? And why?

Or Folca?

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
James Jacobs wrote:
3) Atari 2600. Yeah. I'm old.

We are contemporaries.

What was your favorite 2600 game? I think mine was either Yar's Revenge or Pitfall!—yes, third-party-publisher games count. :)


3 people marked this as a favorite.

In Pitfall what did you hate jumping over more, the underground snakes or those f++@ing Alligators.


Hey, just out of curiosity, how much would you charge to GM a short campaign or one-shot?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

Underground ini Pitfall was those scorpions, right? Not snakes. I think I only finished that game once. Ugh.

I played a great deal of Yar's Revenge as well, but probably the one that made me proudest of joystick control was Joust, that one where you're riding an ostrich and have to joust or land on the enemy ostrich knights.

You had to have good joystick control and timing on the flight button to do well in that game!

==Aelryinth


Touche!

Tho I thought there was a mix, either underground or above ground was a b+&~& in that game.

Good times!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
Who is more vile: Socothbenoth, or Zepar? And why?

Both are equally vile in my take.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Fox wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
3) Atari 2600. Yeah. I'm old.

We are contemporaries.

What was your favorite 2600 game? I think mine was either Yar's Revenge or Pitfall!—yes, third-party-publisher games count. :)

Hmmm... I'm not sure. Probably Jungle Hunt or Joust.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pitfall Rampage Cap'n Yesterday wrote:
In Pitfall what did you hate jumping over more, the underground snakes or those f&@+ing Alligators.

We never had Pitfall in the 2600 library, alas. I played it a few times at friends' places, but never enough to develop a hate for snakes or alligators, but the scorpions were bad news.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

3 people marked this as a favorite.
BigP4nda wrote:
Hey, just out of curiosity, how much would you charge to GM a short campaign or one-shot?

I wouldn't do that. I prefer to run games for friends or at conventions, and that's about it. Charging to run a game turns the playing of the game into work, and that would destroy the last bastion of "non-work tabletop gaming" I have.

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Therrux wrote:
If you were going to give Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings a very general CR what might they be?
I wouldn't. They're player characters, and PCs don't get CRs.

Ok, then what do you think there levels might be?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Therrux wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Therrux wrote:
If you were going to give Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings a very general CR what might they be?
I wouldn't. They're player characters, and PCs don't get CRs.
Ok, then what do you think there levels might be?

Somewhere between 1 and 20?

I'm not trying to be flippant or snarky. If you're translating something like Lord of the Rings into Pathfinder... what you're essentially translating is an Adventure Path. And that means that the level Frodo is at the start of "Fellowship of the Ring" is a different level than where he's at when "The Two Towers" is halfway done, and that's a different level than where he finally ends up at the end.

Beyond that... the characters in literature not specifically built as tie-in fiction to a specific set of rules simply don't follow those rules. What level is Gandalf? What CLASS is Gandalf for that matter? This type of discussion has fueled internet conversations as long as the "what alignment is Batman" conversations, although generally in a much less antagonistic way. But there's no way really to quantify things precisely, and that makes it really difficult and frustrating and tricky to nail things down.

So... I can't really answer your question, other than to say if I were to stat them up at the start and the end, I'd really try to set it up so that the new adventurers (Frodo, Sam, etc.) are 1st level when the first story starts and 20th level when the last story ends, since representing the complete progression from one end of the game's rules to the other and mirroring that to the complete progression of the total story from beginning to end appeals to me.

Silver Crusade Contributor

I'm assuming you've read The Shining and seen the Kubrick film.

1: Have you seen the miniseries version of The Shining? If so, what did you think?

2: Have you read Doctor Sleep yet? What are your thoughts on that book (or the premise, if you haven't read it yet)?

Thank you! ^_^


When books like Occult Adventures come out (which I'm a huge fan of btw) and add new classes that come equipped with truely unique roles, how do you imagine them fitting into the existing pieces of Golarion? Do you generally think of them as always being there and just rare enough that they haven't played into major affairs... (dramatic pause and sound effect) until now... or do you think of them as belonging to an area of the world that you are currently detailing, and that current events are just now making them prominent figures?

Sovereign Court

James,

Presently started playing Wrath of the Righteous a few weeks back and I'm thinking about cross classing my dwarven Paladin of Torag into Spiritualist, given the number of necromatic spells in the spiritualist spell-list could multi-classing (or at least casting) be considered as a violation of the Paladin's code?

Grand Lodge

James Jacobs wrote:
Therrux wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Therrux wrote:
If you were going to give Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas from The Lord Of The Rings a very general CR what might they be?
I wouldn't. They're player characters, and PCs don't get CRs.
Ok, then what do you think there levels might be?

Somewhere between 1 and 20?

I'm not trying to be flippant or snarky. If you're translating something like Lord of the Rings into Pathfinder... what you're essentially translating is an Adventure Path. And that means that the level Frodo is at the start of "Fellowship of the Ring" is a different level than where he's at when "The Two Towers" is halfway done, and that's a different level than where he finally ends up at the end.

Beyond that... the characters in literature not specifically built as tie-in fiction to a specific set of rules simply don't follow those rules. What level is Gandalf? What CLASS is Gandalf for that matter? This type of discussion has fueled internet conversations as long as the "what alignment is Batman" conversations, although generally in a much less antagonistic way. But there's no way really to quantify things precisely, and that makes it really difficult and frustrating and tricky to nail things down.

So... I can't really answer your question, other than to say if I were to stat them up at the start and the end, I'd really try to set it up so that the new adventurers (Frodo, Sam, etc.) are 1st level when the first story starts and 20th level when the last story ends, since representing the complete progression from one end of the game's rules to the other and mirroring that to the complete progression of the total story from beginning to end appeals to me.

Thanks, it's been awhile since I've thought of levels like that and have forgotten. The main reason I asked about those three is because they are a visual representation of a skill set that is in your world and is just fun to compare.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
The Fox wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
3) Atari 2600. Yeah. I'm old.

We are contemporaries.

What was your favorite 2600 game? I think mine was either Yar's Revenge or Pitfall!—yes, third-party-publisher games count. :)

Hmmm... I'm not sure. Probably Jungle Hunt or Joust.

Have you read Ernest Kline's Ready Player One by any chance? I think you would adore the first plot-centric setting.

Now for serious stuff:

Iomedae, "The Inheritor" was Aroden's herald and champion before his mysteeeerious death. Since then she has forsaken his human-centric views and has become the arcehtypal paladin goddess, all about righteousness and valor and defense of the innocent yadda yadda.

1. But what does her church do when it comes to actual inheritance?
Such as, when a member of their faith dies and would logically (and/or legally) pass on their belongings/status to their offspring or a specified recipient.

2. Do they consider the process holy in any way?
3. Do they just leave it to the Abadarans?

My personal take is that (especially given her sobriquet) they probably do something about it, even if it isn't a major focus for the church.


Ok non-rules related (well non-FAQ related) question regarding what it means to become a God.

So, let's say a PC enters, and passes, the test of the Star Stone. They took the risk and it paid off.

However you don't want to say, "Congratulations! Roll up a new character!"

Also, heck, Iomedae was a God and was Aroden's Herald. Some of those heralds (as you even said) were CR 15. Going on the idea that it takes time to build up divine power and hit the big leagues what would be a suitable template to apply?

The idea is "more" but not so much more that it destroys the power level of the party.

I was thinking apply the half celestial template or the Holy/Unholy template. What do you think?


Hi James!

In the Red Mantis Assassin PrC, if the player holds 2 Sawtooth sabres and uses the level 6 ability of Mantis Form to transform into a mantis, does his damage drop from 1d8 to 1d6 because the swords become claws, does he keep the damage from his swords to 1d8 or does the damage increase to 2d6 due to the size increase to large creature?

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