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Paizo Employee Creative Director

coldvictim wrote:
Do you think that, when you have a meticulously created NPC, who you have slaved over with back stories and handouts and real character agency within your campaign world, that after your players have sliced her in half, jumped up and down on the remains, and danced around the area with fine little jig (written by your local bard specifically for the occasion) it is okay to have a boss later on raise her from the dead? Or is this just too hockey/soap opera-y?

It's always okay for ANY NPC to get resurrected, be it one you put a lot of work into or one that you did no work for and didn't expect to be a big deal. It's not a question of whether it's okay to do this... as long as the story supports it, it's fine. What you DON'T want to do is to do this every single time. That gets old and gets frustrating.

Remember that you as the GM get to decide when a dead person's soul is judged, and at that point they can't be brought back to life. Each player gets to decide this for their own character, but you get to decide it for every other NPC in the game. You want to not abuse this power. Remember that sometimes, letting the PCs win big (such as the scenario you mention above) is good for the party morale and PLAYER morale. Instead of resurrecting your NPC, consider having a friend or family member or something of the dead NPC come after the PCs instead, as seen in the last two Furious movies.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

The Doomkitten wrote:

You played Kingmaker? Cool, that's one of my favorite AP's! I'm currently prepping to run it in the fantastic Thunderscape setting as my latest crack at it.

Here's my question: what character did you make for the Kingmaker campaign you played in?

Rob McCreary ran a Kingmaker game, but he shifted it from the Stolen Lands into Iobaria. We got about 1/3 the way through the first adventure, and did a few extensive side treks; we were 4th level when Rob called the campaign off and we switched to Skull & Shackles.

My character in the Kingmaker game was a Varisian cleric of Desna named Echo Sidra who dual-wielded starknives and was afraid of graveyards.

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
My character in the Kingmaker game was a Varisian cleric of Desna named Echo Sidra who dual-wielded starknives and was afraid of graveyards.

Any particular reason?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
My character in the Kingmaker game was a Varisian cleric of Desna named Echo Sidra who dual-wielded starknives and was afraid of graveyards.
Any particular reason?

When she was a kid at the orphanage, the other kids lured her into a graveyard to play a joke on her. She fell into an open grave that partially caved in and the kids panicked and ran away. She was stuck in the grave for several hours, during which a rat chewed off her pinky finger, before she managed to escape.


James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
My character in the Kingmaker game was a Varisian cleric of Desna named Echo Sidra who dual-wielded starknives and was afraid of graveyards.
Any particular reason?
When she was a kid at the orphanage, the other kids lured her into a graveyard to play a joke on her. She fell into an open grave that partially caved in and the kids panicked and ran away. She was stuck in the grave for several hours, during which a rat chewed off her pinky finger, before she managed to escape.

I can see the draw to Desna. That whole episode probably resulted in years of bad dreams.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Suppose an Arshean who wants every doppleganger in Vyre to work for em (and ideally convert). How would e do that?
By being high level and having lots of money or resources or controlling spells or so on. And honestly, an Arshean wouldn't really want to do that anyway, since Vyre is in a lot of ways the OPPOSITE of where a neutral good character would feel comfortable living.

Oh yes, Vyre is pretty scummy, that's why the Arshean I had mind wants to clean up the city. It'd still be a city of vice, just not exploitative. Given that it's practically Norgorber's holy city, that's admittedly a tall order, and would probably require aggressive economic diplomacy.

So, some follow-up questions:

1. Why did you recommend controlling spells for employing doppelgangers? Given the nature of the work suggested, how would I use such spells in a good-aligned way?

2. What do doppelgangers like, anyway? My first guess is luxury.

3. Where other cities would be good places to find doppelgangers?

4. How would I best be able to spot doppelgangers in general? Look for attractive hangers-on living in luxury?

5. What would I have to do to clean up Vyre? I suspect controlling Kintargo's shipping is but a small part of it.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Suppose an Arshean who wants every doppleganger in Vyre to work for em (and ideally convert). How would e do that?
By being high level and having lots of money or resources or controlling spells or so on. And honestly, an Arshean wouldn't really want to do that anyway, since Vyre is in a lot of ways the OPPOSITE of where a neutral good character would feel comfortable living.

Oh yes, Vyre is pretty scummy, that's why the Arshean I had mind wants to clean up the city. It'd still be a city of vice, just not exploitative. Given that it's practically Norgorber's holy city, that's admittedly a tall order, and would probably require aggressive economic diplomacy.

So, some follow-up questions:

1. Why did you recommend controlling spells for employing doppelgangers? Given the nature of the work suggested, how would I use such spells in a good-aligned way?

2. What do doppelgangers like, anyway? My first guess is luxury.

3. Where other cities would be good places to find doppelgangers?

4. How would I best be able to spot doppelgangers in general? Look for attractive hangers-on living in luxury?

5. What would I have to do to clean up Vyre? I suspect controlling Kintargo's shipping is but a small part of it.

Vyre is a high-level place, and cleaning it up is not a low-level task. Just sayin'. But yeah... cleaning up Vyre and kicking out Norgorber's cult would be an entire Adventure Path in and of itself.

1) Mind control isn't evil. Controlling a mind and making the controlled person commit evil is evil, but the mind control itself isn't evil.

2) Depends entirely on the doppelganger, but I suspect a lot are, at their core, envious creatures who covet what others have.

3) Anywhere. That's pretty much what doppelgangers are about. Infiltrating. They could be ANYONE and ANYWHERE.

4) True seeing is the best way. Doppelgangers don't only masquerade as good looking people or rich folks.

5) You'd need to engage in a full campaign's worth of various missions and adventures. It's not a throw-away mission. Something like this is an Adventure Path that would require all sorts of sizable adventures along the way.


Since this might come up in my homebrew setting, can kitsune and humans interbreed?

Also though I don't have the book yet I was very pleased to see that the pleisosaurus and troodon are in Bestiary 5. Two of my favorite prehistoric reptiles right there. Any chance we could get a realistic Dilophosaurus in the next Bestiary?

Are dinosaurs refered to by their real names on Golarion or are they called by a Eberron-esque names like terrorclaw or hornface?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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KaiserBruno wrote:

Since this might come up in my homebrew setting, can kitsune and humans interbreed?

Also though I don't have the book yet I was very pleased to see that the pleisosaurus and troodon are in Bestiary 5. Two of my favorite prehistoric reptiles right there. Any chance we could get a realistic Dilophosaurus in the next Bestiary?

Are dinosaurs refered to by their real names on Golarion or are they called by a Eberron-esque names like terrorclaw or hornface?

Kitsune and humans can certainly have sex. Whether or not they can make babies is left to the GM to decide. If they do, I would suggest that the children be kitsune, not some sort of half-kitsune thingy.

We'll see regarding dilophosaurus. One reason I've avoided doing that one is that I'm torn between the real fossil version and the Jurassic Park version...

Dinosaurs are absolutely referred to in Golarion by their real names, in the same way folks in Golarion call a cat a cat (despite not speaking English) or the Tarrasque the Tarrasque (despite not speaking Latin). I've never understood the weird hangup folks have about dinosaur names breaking that verisimilitude when all other names do not. The fake names that they were known by in Eberron was in fact my LEAST favorite part of Eberron, in fact. I never understood how a game could welcome a word like "necromancy" but had a hangup with a word like "tyrannosaurus," especially given the fact that on the average real-world street, the number of folks who know what a tyrannosaurus are DWARFS the number who know what a necromancer is.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
Suppose an Arshean who wants every doppleganger in Vyre to work for em (and ideally convert). How would e do that?
By being high level and having lots of money or resources or controlling spells or so on. And honestly, an Arshean wouldn't really want to do that anyway, since Vyre is in a lot of ways the OPPOSITE of where a neutral good character would feel comfortable living.

Oh yes, Vyre is pretty scummy, that's why the Arshean I had mind wants to clean up the city. It'd still be a city of vice, just not exploitative. Given that it's practically Norgorber's holy city, that's admittedly a tall order, and would probably require aggressive economic diplomacy.

So, some follow-up questions:

1. Why did you recommend controlling spells for employing doppelgangers? Given the nature of the work suggested, how would I use such spells in a good-aligned way?

2. What do doppelgangers like, anyway? My first guess is luxury.

3. Where other cities would be good places to find doppelgangers?

4. How would I best be able to spot doppelgangers in general? Look for attractive hangers-on living in luxury?

5. What would I have to do to clean up Vyre? I suspect controlling Kintargo's shipping is but a small part of it.

Vyre is a high-level place, and cleaning it up is not a low-level task. Just sayin'. But yeah... cleaning up Vyre and kicking out Norgorber's cult would be an entire Adventure Path in and of itself.

1) Mind control isn't evil. Controlling a mind and making the controlled person commit evil is evil, but the mind control itself isn't evil.

2) Depends entirely on the doppelganger, but I suspect a lot are, at their core, envious creatures who covet what others have.

3) Anywhere. That's pretty much what doppelgangers are about. Infiltrating. They could be ANYONE and ANYWHERE.

4) True seeing is the best way. Doppelgangers don't only masquerade as good looking people...

1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?

2. Why would a doppelgänger be envious? It can have any body it wants, is telepathic, can end fights with common goons, or evade fights entirely.

3. “Younger doppelgangers practice their skills by taking over small orc or goblin tribes.” Is it because goblins and orcs are more disposable and have less collective intelligence? I can’t think of any other reason besides having no choice for living somewhere with no hygiene.

4. Why wouldn’t a doppelgänger infiltrate someplace luxurious by default?

5. Even if I just happen to have some mid-level spellcasters with me, true seeing doesn’t last that long so I’ll need to make each casting count. Besides heavily crowded areas (theaters, arenas, busy marketplaces, etc.) where would be a good place to cast the spell for doppelgänger hunting?

6. If I don’t have true seeing, what tells or spoor could I look for when hunting doppelgängers?


Hi James,

So as written the feats Sunlight summons and Moonlight summons have your summoned creatures give off light as per the spell.

Does this particular effect count as a 0-th level spell of light being added on to the summoned creature?

Or does the light in fact count as the same level of the spell as the summoned creature spell? For instance a Summon Monster 4 spell would count as a 4th level light spell.

Specifically this is on how it effects magical darkness.


James Jacobs wrote:
Ereus wrote:

Two questions,

How does the absorbed into the afterlife plane thing like?
Are you just unconscious for the rest of forever or are you in a heaven like state where your with your family and such?

And is there any canonical limits to what magic can do? Could one make a spell where one grows bat wings gains the strength 10 men and pretty much becomes a stereotypical demon?

There seems to be words missing from your first question... but what happens to your soul in the afterlife varies WIDELY depending on your alignment and faith and where you end up. The last volume of Mummy's Mask has an entire article that talks about this subject.

There are canonical limits to what mortal magic can do, as stipulated by the spells that exist in the game. When a deity or other more-powerful-than-a-PC creature gets involved, there's no limit other than the imagination and desire of the world builder.

A spell where you grow bat wings and get strong and all that already exists in the form of various polymorph spells.

Sorry, What i meant was you said people get absorbed into the plane of existence they end up in after a VERY long time as a outsider. I was asking what the consciousness experiences post absorption?

Dark Archive

Hi James.

Is your ToEE campaign on hiatus because of Fallout 4?

If not, anything new to add since your last post about the campaign?

And some spoiler free mechanics and ease of gameplay tips you may not be aware of for Fallout.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
my current favorite is probably Way of the Wicked because it lets me play a character type I don't normally play (EVIL!)

When will the big reveal for the evil iconics appearing in Hell's Vengeance begin?


Some questions about the Dominion of the Black.

1) Do their ships tend to have mounted laser weapons or something similar for space combat, or do they generally just rely on biological warfare?

2) How big is the average Dominion ship? How big are the biggest? Their dropships (like the decaying one in Valley of the Brain Collectors) are smaller than the space-faring ones I believe, correct me if I'm wrong.

3) What sort of numbers would be involved in a Dominion invasion of Golarion like the one proposed as a post-Divinity Drive event? Do they have enough resources to be talking "my ships will blot out the sun" levels here?

4) Are there any Dominion-related monsters you would like to have done differently if Occult Adventures had been published earlier?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:

1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?

2. Why would a doppelgänger be envious? It can have any body it wants, is telepathic, can end fights with common goons, or evade fights entirely.

3. “Younger doppelgangers practice their skills by taking over small orc or goblin tribes.” Is it because goblins and orcs are more disposable and have less collective intelligence? I can’t think of any other reason besides having no choice for living somewhere with no hygiene.

4. Why wouldn’t a doppelgänger infiltrate someplace luxurious by default?

5. Even if I just happen to have some mid-level spellcasters with me, true seeing doesn’t last that long so I’ll need to make each casting count. Besides heavily crowded areas (theaters, arenas, busy marketplaces, etc.) where would be a good place to cast the spell for doppelgänger hunting?

6. If I don’t have true seeing, what tells or spoor could I look for when hunting doppelgängers?

1) Mind controlling people for sex is kidna rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.

2) It can "be" anyone it wants, but it knows it's a fake.

3) It's because younger doppelgangers are smaller sized, as are all young versions of creatures, and thus it's basically just flavor text. Has nothing to do with "disposability."

4) Because every doppelganger is different, and thus they all have different desires and goals.

5) Exactly. You're facing a very difficult task, and it shouldn't be easy. As for a "good place" to cast the spell... that depends ENTIRELY on your GM.

6) The low-rent version is to pump ranks into Perception and Sense Motive to see through their acts and bluffs and disguises.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Either or... wrote:

Hi James,

So as written the feats Sunlight summons and Moonlight summons have your summoned creatures give off light as per the spell.

Does this particular effect count as a 0-th level spell of light being added on to the summoned creature?

Or does the light in fact count as the same level of the spell as the summoned creature spell? For instance a Summon Monster 4 spell would count as a 4th level light spell.

Specifically this is on how it effects magical darkness.

That should be asked in the proper rules forum so it can be FAQed and so the designers will know it's a question.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ereus wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Ereus wrote:

Two questions,

How does the absorbed into the afterlife plane thing like?
Are you just unconscious for the rest of forever or are you in a heaven like state where your with your family and such?

And is there any canonical limits to what magic can do? Could one make a spell where one grows bat wings gains the strength 10 men and pretty much becomes a stereotypical demon?

There seems to be words missing from your first question... but what happens to your soul in the afterlife varies WIDELY depending on your alignment and faith and where you end up. The last volume of Mummy's Mask has an entire article that talks about this subject.

There are canonical limits to what mortal magic can do, as stipulated by the spells that exist in the game. When a deity or other more-powerful-than-a-PC creature gets involved, there's no limit other than the imagination and desire of the world builder.

A spell where you grow bat wings and get strong and all that already exists in the form of various polymorph spells.

Sorry, What i meant was you said people get absorbed into the plane of existence they end up in after a VERY long time as a outsider. I was asking what the consciousness experiences post absorption?

Nothing.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

baron arem heshvaun wrote:

Hi James.

Is your ToEE campaign on hiatus because of Fallout 4?

If not, anything new to add since your last post about the campaign?

And some spoiler free mechanics and ease of gameplay tips you may not be aware of for Fallout.

No, the ToEE campaign has been on hiatis due to a combination of folks being sick, folks being out of office due to conventions and travel, and most importantly, on hiatus because I've been too drained/stressed/tired from work to run the game lately.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

baron arem heshvaun wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
my current favorite is probably Way of the Wicked because it lets me play a character type I don't normally play (EVIL!)
When will the big reveal for the evil iconics appearing in Hell's Vengeance begin?

My guess would be January, a month before the first volume comes out.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alset wrote:

Some questions about the Dominion of the Black.

1) Do their ships tend to have mounted laser weapons or something similar for space combat, or do they generally just rely on biological warfare?

2) How big is the average Dominion ship? How big are the biggest? Their dropships (like the decaying one in Valley of the Brain Collectors) are smaller than the space-faring ones I believe, correct me if I'm wrong.

3) What sort of numbers would be involved in a Dominion invasion of Golarion like the one proposed as a post-Divinity Drive event? Do they have enough resources to be talking "my ships will blot out the sun" levels here?

4) Are there any Dominion-related monsters you would like to have done differently if Occult Adventures had been published earlier?

1) They tend to use biowarfare (particularly disease) or mind-affecting/madness attacks or magic.

2) Unrevealed. But big.

3) Depends if you want it to be a tiny one-shot thing or a campaign-wide adventure path equivalent event. Could be one, could be a dozen, could be thousands or more. They do have the "blot out the sun" resources, but they're very unlikely to use that many against one planet, since they're spread out so far and don't need that many to do their thing.

4) No.

Grand Lodge

In working on a future home-game in urban Cheliax I hit a bump in "big-picture" design and I'm wondering how much I should just make up and how much I can get from you. (I'd much rather have your input.)

....The monarchic title "Emperor" is, IF one splits hairs, higher than "King" -- only because in the strictest definition, an Emperor has no other political equals or "lateral superiors" to whom he must answer in some degree.... whereas a King must answer to, for example, a Pope. (Also, Emperors are usually monarchs over a plurality of nations unlike a typical King.)

With this in mind, I'm wondering if Queen Abrogail II is more like an Empress than a Queen.

So,.... Must Abrogail answer in some way to The Church of Asmodeus (Aspexia Rugatonn)? Or Gorthoklek?

Did Abrogail I (or Antonius or Terthule or Carellia, etc.) have any "lateral superiors"?

Could it be appropriate to title Asmodeus the Emperor of Cheliax and Abrogail II the Queen?

Or is perhaps Gorthoklek a better-suited individual to title Emperor? (Though this seems unlikely since, apparently, she controls him.) ....(In 50-60 years when Abrogail II dies, if Gorthoklek were to stay in Cheliax with Abrogail's successor, could he be titled Emperor and Abrogail's successor be King or Queen?!)

Or must one say that there is definitively NO Emperor-like monarch in Cheliax because whomever is the Head of The Church of Asmodeus in Cheliax holds some equal influence in politics to the Queen -- like a Pope.
.
.
.
Also, are there Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts & Barons in Cheliax? Or are Duxotar and Paralictor and the like all there is?

As always, many thanks for taking the time to consider our questions and throw down your thoughts!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

W E Ray wrote:

In working on a future home-game in urban Cheliax I hit a bump in "big-picture" design and I'm wondering how much I should just make up and how much I can get from you. (I'd much rather have your input.)

....The monarchic title "Emperor" is, IF one splits hairs, higher than "King" -- only because in the strictest definition, an Emperor has no other political equals or "lateral superiors" to whom he must answer in some degree.... whereas a King must answer to, for example, a Pope. (Also, Emperors are usually monarchs over a plurality of nations unlike a typical King.)

With this in mind, I'm wondering if Queen Abrogail II is more like an Empress than a Queen.

So,.... Must Abrogail answer in some way to The Church of Asmodeus (Aspexia Rugatonn)? Or Gorthoklek?

Did Abrogail I (or Antonius or Terthule or Carellia, etc.) have any "lateral superiors"?

Could it be appropriate to title Asmodeus the Emperor of Cheliax and Abrogail II the Queen?

Or is perhaps Gorthoklek a better-suited individual to title Emperor? (Though this seems unlikely since, apparently, she controls him.) ....(In 50-60 years when Abrogail II dies, if Gorthoklek were to stay in Cheliax with Abrogail's successor, could he be titled Emperor and Abrogail's successor be King or Queen?!)

Or must one say that there is definitively NO Emperor-like monarch in Cheliax because whomever is the Head of The Church of Asmodeus in Cheliax holds some equal influence in politics to the Queen -- like a Pope.
.
.
.
Also, are there Dukes, Marquises, Counts, Viscounts & Barons in Cheliax? Or are Duxotar and Paralictor and the like all there is?

As always, many thanks for taking the time to consider our questions and throw down your thoughts!

The upcoming Cheliax book talks quite a bit about how the government of Cheliax works. Abrogail II is TECHNICALLY a Magestrix, not an Empress or a Queen... she does use "Queen" in her title, but that's not strictly a perfect crossover to the traditional role. In any event... she IS the one who's ultimately in charge of Cheliax. She doesn't officially rule the Church of Asmodeus, but then again, the church of Asmodeus doesn't offically have capacity to set laws or do government things in Cheliax.

Abrogail doesn't answer to the church for anything.

Gorthoklek is bound to house Thrune. He's a minion of Abrogail II and as such is NOT a contender for ruler of anything.

There's a LOT of lower ranking nobles and all that... but it's complicated. The Cheliax book is what you want to check out.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?
1) Mind controlling people for sex is kidna rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.

No, that's exactly how I felt, thus my reason for asking why you even suggested it. What else did you think an Arshean wanted shapechangers for?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?
1) Mind controlling people for sex is kidna rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.
No, that's exactly how I felt, thus my reason for asking why you even suggested it. What else did you think an Arshean wanted shapechangers for?

Arshea is about more than sex.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:

1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?

1) Mind controlling people for sex is kinda rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.

It's more than "kinda" in my book. Mind-control removes the possibility of consent. Ask Jessica Jones.

And speaking of Marvel's Jessica Jones: are you looing forward to this series?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Haladir wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:

1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?

1) Mind controlling people for sex is kinda rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.

It's more than "kinda" in my book. Mind-control removes the possibility of consent. Ask Jessica Jones.

And speaking of Marvel's Jessica Jones: are you looing forward to this series?

Yeah, my use of "kinda" was spoken in my head sorta sarcastically understated... in the same way someone might say nuclear bombs are "kinda" radioactive. That kinda tone doesn't translate well in posts, alas, but the point stands.

I am indeed very much looking forward to Jessica Jones—I LOVED the gritty/dark take they had on Daredevil, and LOVE the fact that they're doing a woman superhero story finally.

NO SPOILERS!!


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Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Out of curiosity, do you know of anyone at Paizo with an interest in heraldry (the system by which coats of arms and other armorial bearings are devised, described, and regulated) or blazonry (the art of describing or painting heraldic devices or armorial bearings)? Or if Paizo might some day address the question of heraldry in the Inner Sea?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ed Reppert wrote:
Out of curiosity, do you know of anyone at Paizo with an interest in heraldry (the system by which coats of arms and other armorial bearings are devised, described, and regulated) or blazonry (the art of describing or painting heraldic devices or armorial bearings)? Or if Paizo might some day address the question of heraldry in the Inner Sea?

Not really.

I realize that this is a subject that some folks are very interested in, but I'm not convinced that those numbers are high enough to justify the relatively significant amount of work that would be required to deliver this information in a way that stands up to scrutiny.


James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?
1) Mind controlling people for sex is kidna rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.
No, that's exactly how I felt, thus my reason for asking why you even suggested it. What else did you think an Arshean wanted shapechangers for?
Arshea is about more than sex.

True, given that e was conceived in part to provide representation to transfolk. There's also the freedom aspects as well (self-expression, liberation from tyranny, other things that'd go great with Hell's Rebels, etc.). Still, you'd have to admit my sex focus was understandable given Arshea's obedience.

I sense you were annoyed at my ignorance, however, so I seek to learn more. Besides the representation and freedom I mentioned, what else is there to Arshea?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
AlgaeNymph wrote:
1. Maybe I should be more specific. My Arshean’s looking to recruit doppelgängers as (well-treated) prostitutes for a benevolent sex cult (that needs to turn a profit, because expenses). How would mind control in this context not be evil?
1) Mind controlling people for sex is kidna rapey. And thus, evil. AKA, as far as I'm concerned, your Arshean won't be an Arshean for long once that evil kicks in and you fall from grace. And that's all I've got to say on that subject. If you want another opinion, talk to your GM.
No, that's exactly how I felt, thus my reason for asking why you even suggested it. What else did you think an Arshean wanted shapechangers for?
Arshea is about more than sex.

True, given that e was conceived in part to provide representation to transfolk. There's also the freedom aspects as well (self-expression, liberation from tyranny, other things that'd go great with Hell's Rebels, etc.). Still, you'd have to admit my sex focus was understandable given Arshea's obedience.

I sense you were annoyed at my ignorance, however, so I seek to learn more. Besides the representation and freedom I mentioned, what else is there to Arshea?

I'm not so much annoyed at ignorance about Arshea at all as I am trying to tiptoe around a subject that's increasingly not something that's all that appropriate for discussion on the Paizo boards.

I was not involved in Arshea's creation or editing or development or any of that and actually haven't read much about the character at all. I tend, these days, to only focus in on elements that play directly into something I'm working on. I have no further insights at this time into Arshea beyond what's already in print.

Grand Lodge

Hey James what are schools like on Golarion? By that I mean I know there are universities and colleges but what about elementary schools? When age do kids graduate from said school and what sorts of things do they learn about?

Also I have another question if you will indulge me. Do eye correctional glasses exist on Golarion? On a side note if they do I will assume they won't fix the oracle's curse clouded vision.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Therrux wrote:

Hey James what are schools like on Golarion? By that I mean I know there are universities and colleges but what about elementary schools? When age do kids graduate from said school and what sorts of things do they learn about?

Also I have another question if you will indulge me. Do eye correctional glasses exist on Golarion? On a side note if they do I will assume they won't fix the oracle's curse clouded vision.

Schools vary by region, but kids going to school and graduating are, as a general rule, a LOT less the norm on Golarion than in this world. For most kids, "School" is actually apprenticeship or adventuring or soldering or church or whatever. School for a classical "higher education" is generally something more limited to the children of wealthier folks in urban areas. But again... it varies by region, and even by town.

Eyeglasses do exist on Golarion to aid vision, but not to the extent modern prescription glasses exist; on Golarion, that role is instead handled by the 2nd level spell remove blindness, more or less. Or some variant thereof.

They won't fix an oracle curse though. Those curses aren't things oracles WANT to be fixed, any more than a fighter wants to throw away his weapons or a wizard wants to burn his spellbook. An oracle's curse is a badge of pride for the oracle, and is part of where their powers come from.

Dark Archive

James, how do you find the personality for NPCs that were introduced last minute into the game that suddenly become important to the plot and have to have an ongoing screen time through out the game?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

ulgulanoth wrote:
James, how do you find the personality for NPCs that were introduced last minute into the game that suddenly become important to the plot and have to have an ongoing screen time through out the game?

When they first become important I draw upon 35 or so years of reading and watching stories to pull personality traits from, but try to focus in on one trait to portray at first so the NPC is memorable more easily for that one trait. (It helps that I develop NPCs and encounters every day; I've always got a large stock of them rattling around in my head.) Then, after that session of the game, I'll work up a more robust personality and stat block for them before the next game.


Thanks for being so responsive. I have an interesting question regarding the interaction of invisibility and stealth (and I can get this FAQed in the Rules forum if you wish).

The scenario is simple: You are in an open plain against a single opponent, who can make a DC 40 Perception check while rolling a one. He has spotted you.

If you drink a potion of Invisibility, will that allow to make a stealth check to avoid detection?

The Stealth rules and the Invisible condition are both unclear as to whether this is allowed.


Hey James. So Occult Realms came out and finally pulled back the curtain on what is now my favorite Orvian vault - Denebrum. After reading those fantastic 4 pages, I went back and re-read the section on Ilvarandin in Lost Cities and came away with a question about the intellect devourers therein:

Is the midnight milk scheme effective?

I ask because Denebrum is packed with very high end monsters. Midnight milk, on the other hand, is being used primarily to recruit human drug addicts. Not exactly the sort of military force one would successfully deploy against seugathi, gugs, and neothelids in the lightless Darklands.

(On a related note, I went back and re-read the awesome campaign journal for Shadows Under Sandpoint [a must read for anyone interested in the intellect devourer vs. neothelid war]. I for one am still holding out hope that it will one day get the Adventure Path treatment).

Thanks for any info you can provide!


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

1) What's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core classes?

2) How about in association with each of the core races?

3) What are three new monsters from Bestiary 5 you like off the top of your head, and what do you like about them?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Ganny wrote:

Thanks for being so responsive. I have an interesting question regarding the interaction of invisibility and stealth (and I can get this FAQed in the Rules forum if you wish).

The scenario is simple: You are in an open plain against a single opponent, who can make a DC 40 Perception check while rolling a one. He has spotted you.

If you drink a potion of Invisibility, will that allow to make a stealth check to avoid detection?

The Stealth rules and the Invisible condition are both unclear as to whether this is allowed.

Why wouldn't going invisible let you make a stealth check? That's the whole point of the spell, after all. Whether or not the opponent will be able to pinpoint you or figure out what square you're in and all that is irrelevant. You are still invisible, and thus get to make your Stealth check.

In cases where the rules are unclear, my advice is to step away from the rules and look at the situation with imagination and creativity and to envision what SHOULD happen in the situation. AKA: common sense type stuff—if you become invisible, it's common sense that you should be able to make a Stealth check.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Generic Villain wrote:

Hey James. So Occult Realms came out and finally pulled back the curtain on what is now my favorite Orvian vault - Denebrum. After reading those fantastic 4 pages, I went back and re-read the section on Ilvarandin in Lost Cities and came away with a question about the intellect devourers therein:

Is the midnight milk scheme effective?

I ask because Denebrum is packed with very high end monsters. Midnight milk, on the other hand, is being used primarily to recruit human drug addicts. Not exactly the sort of military force one would successfully deploy against seugathi, gugs, and neothelids in the lightless Darklands.

(On a related note, I went back and re-read the awesome campaign journal for Shadows Under Sandpoint [a must read for anyone interested in the intellect devourer vs. neothelid war]. I for one am still holding out hope that it will one day get the Adventure Path treatment).

Thanks for any info you can provide!

The midnight milk scheme is indeed effective, and if some day I ever get around to doing Shadow Under Sandpoint as an adventure or something, the details on how it works and why and all that will be revealed.

But a quick preliminary spoiler...

Spoiler:
What the intellect devourers are up to at the moment is stage 1. A proof of concept that they can do a mass harvesting at long distance. If that experiment works... and foiling that experiment is part of what the campaign is about... then they can pretty much turn their attentions to long-distance body theft of wherever they want.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Luthorne wrote:

1) What's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core classes?

2) How about in association with each of the core races?

3) What are three new monsters from Bestiary 5 you like off the top of your head, and what do you like about them?

1) In alphabetical order: angry, awesome, fun, inspiring, tough, defensive, boring, woodsy, stabby, sexy, old.

2) What in association? You're missing a word and that makes the question nonsensical and impossible to answer.

3) Elder deep one (I like that they can grant spells)
Leng ghoul (I like that they're Lovecraft versions of the monster he helped popularize)
Therizinosaurus: A crazy weird creature that was actually a REAL creature!

ANd yes, they're all monsters I wrote for the book. I've not really had the chance to look through the book itself and didn't work on much else in the book and don't have a copy here at home so I can't really come up with others off the top of my head.


Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Luthorne wrote:

1) What's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core classes?

2) How about in association with each of the core races?

3) What are three new monsters from Bestiary 5 you like off the top of your head, and what do you like about them?

1) In alphabetical order: angry, awesome, fun, inspiring, tough, defensive, boring, woodsy, stabby, sexy, old.

2) What in association? You're missing a word and that makes the question nonsensical and impossible to answer.

3) Elder deep one (I like that they can grant spells)
Leng ghoul (I like that they're Lovecraft versions of the monster he helped popularize)
Therizinosaurus: A crazy weird creature that was actually a REAL creature!

ANd yes, they're all monsters I wrote for the book. I've not really had the chance to look through the book itself and didn't work on much else in the book and don't have a copy here at home so I can't really come up with others off the top of my head.

Sorry, I meant it as a continuation of the first question, ie, what's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core races?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Luthorne wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Luthorne wrote:

1) What's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core classes?

2) How about in association with each of the core races?

3) What are three new monsters from Bestiary 5 you like off the top of your head, and what do you like about them?

1) In alphabetical order: angry, awesome, fun, inspiring, tough, defensive, boring, woodsy, stabby, sexy, old.

2) What in association? You're missing a word and that makes the question nonsensical and impossible to answer.

3) Elder deep one (I like that they can grant spells)
Leng ghoul (I like that they're Lovecraft versions of the monster he helped popularize)
Therizinosaurus: A crazy weird creature that was actually a REAL creature!

ANd yes, they're all monsters I wrote for the book. I've not really had the chance to look through the book itself and didn't work on much else in the book and don't have a copy here at home so I can't really come up with others off the top of my head.

Sorry, I meant it as a continuation of the first question, ie, what's the first adjective that comes to mind in association with each of the core races?

Dwarf = gross

Elf = awesome
Gnome = quirky
Halfling = fun
Half-Elf = tormented
Half-Orc = loud
Human = everywhere

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

James, what is your favorite thing for breakfast on the weekend?


James, why was Avalexi the succubus trapped by Sorshen in the black basalt monument near the underground entrance to the Lady's Light? Was it to power some sort of magical device or spell? If so, what exactly?

Thanks!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:
James, what is your favorite thing for breakfast on the weekend?

French toast.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Andros Morino wrote:

James, why was Avalexi the succubus trapped by Sorshen in the black basalt monument near the underground entrance to the Lady's Light? Was it to power some sort of magical device or spell? If so, what exactly?

Thanks!

Been several years since I've had my head in that adventure, but there was indeed a reason. Not one I'm ready to go into in more detail quite yet, though.


Hiya James,

Some of my players and I are considering trying some new systems in Golarion, such as 5.0 or utilizing the Spheres of Power magic system instead of vancian in Pathfinder.

We love the Golarion world setting, however, and I was wondering how heavily tied into the actual Pathfinder rules system Golarion is? In your opinion, will using a different system set in Golarion drastically change or have a negative effect on the setting as it's supposed to be?

I'm sure you'll say something like "Play as you wish in your own home game", but we're very avid of playing 'canon' Golarion, such as it is; IE Golarion as you and the team envision it.

Thanks for your input!


James Jacobs wrote:
Andros Morino wrote:

James, why was Avalexi the succubus trapped by Sorshen in the black basalt monument near the underground entrance to the Lady's Light? Was it to power some sort of magical device or spell? If so, what exactly?

Thanks!

Been several years since I've had my head in that adventure, but there was indeed a reason. Not one I'm ready to go into in more detail quite yet, though.

Look at you being mysterious. :)

I'm thinking that this 7-sided black basalt monument with a lust rune on each side might work similarly to the 8 feet tall square black stone menhir found in Kaer Maga. If it is true and a fully powered basalt monument lead to another dimension, where could Sorshen might want it to lead? The Midnight Isles perhaps... ;)

I don't expect that you will reveal your secrets James but that's my theory.


What is your favorite ascended god (if any), and why?

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