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What are the metaphysical reasons cold iron and alchemical silver/mithral penetrate the DR of chaotic and lawful beings respectively? I know it derives from the real-world superstitions that surround iron and silver, depicting them as banes of and talismans against the supernatural but what's the IN-UNIVERSE reason? Adamantine does the same thing for golems and robots just because it's tougher than normal steel that'd break when trying to cut through solid rock or metal, rather than for mystical reasons, right? So what about cold iron makes it inherently lawful? What about silver makes it inherently chaotic?
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Is there an in-universe reason why so many big events (aka Adventure Paths) are happening at the same time, or at least within a few years of each-other? Is it a delayed effect from Aroden's death or just coincidence?
Were there similar events (basically something similar to APs) that happened in Golarion's past? I realize we're not likely to see them due to the work that would be involved in writing sourcebooks set in the past, but if there were any, can you give any examples?
James Jacobs,
Now that Wes has beaten Eye of the Beholder II, do you think you guys will try your hand at Death Knights of Krynn now?
Hey James, quick question: What kind of deities do Reptoids (from the Bestiary 5) worship? I'd love to learn more about them in general.
Hey James.
You know how a lot of effects can condemn a soul to go to the lower planes? Deals with contract devils, the Cacodaemon's Soul Lock ability, that sort of thing.
How much does Pharasma get involved in these things. Does she go along with it and deliberately send creatures to the lower planes if their souls were damned somehow (with or without their consent), or do those abilities bypass her judgement and "remove her from the loop", so to speak.
Thanks.
EDIT: Oh, and how much of a difference does it make if it is voluntary vs involuntary vs voluntary, but the creature was evil when it made the decision and later repented.
Hey James.
You know how a lot of effects can condemn a soul to go to the lower planes? Deals with contract devils, the Cacodaemon's Soul Lock ability, that sort of thing.
How much does Pharasma get involved in these things. Does she go along with it and deliberately send creatures to the lower planes if their souls were damned somehow (with or without their consent), or do those abilities bypass her judgement and "remove her from the loop", so to speak.
Thanks.
EDIT: Oh, and how much of a difference does it make if it is voluntary vs involuntary vs voluntary, but the creature was evil when it made the decision and later repented.
Or another version of this question. When Pharasma makes a judgement is the prority what plane a soul deserves to go to, or which diety or domain has the best claim on it?
Creative Director
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Ciao, James! I'm reading Hell's Rebels right now, and it's GOOD!
Do you know what the (Elven? Chelish?) word "Lacunafex" means? And what happens in the 'Marquel Affair' part of Turn of the Torrent if one of the PCs is an Aulorian?
Lacunafex is a word I made up, taking the word "lacuna" (a missing portion in a manuscript) and adding the suffix "fex" (which means "maker") to create something of a "Creator of mysteries" type name. Which works well for a secret society of spies and messengers; the idea being that there are secrets that they trade in that without their aid would be missing knowledge. Anyway... the word would basically mean "makers of secrets" or some such.
If one of the PCs is an Aulorian, I think your best bet is to change Marquel to a different family so as to prevent unnecessary complications. If you want to keep him as an Aulorian... that opens up some interesting complexity to the encounter, PARTICULARLY if the PC Aulorian is in good standing with her/his family... I wouldn't go that route, frankly, unless I specifically wanted to build that sort of growing schism between the PC and the family from the start.
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As a rough guideline, how many evil spells should be cast to shift someone’s alignment towards evil (from good to neutral or neutral to evil)?
I understand that it may vary from situation to situation, but I don't want to be arbitrary and shift ones alignment for casting 1-2 evil spells, or counting till the caster reaches hundred or more casts.
I wouldn't nail it down, since intent maters as much as anything. If the spellcastter was obviously freaked out and apologetic and uncomfortable about casting an evil spell, it might take four or so before I'd shift the character's alignment closer to evil. If the spellcaster was blasé about it or eager and amused by it, the shift might happen with a single casting. The actions of the player casting the spell would be as much a decider as the spell itself.
Regardless, it wouldn't take many castings.
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Creative Director
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What are the metaphysical reasons cold iron and alchemical silver/mithral penetrate the DR of chaotic and lawful beings respectively? I know it derives from the real-world superstitions that surround iron and silver, depicting them as banes of and talismans against the supernatural but what's the IN-UNIVERSE reason? Adamantine does the same thing for golems and robots just because it's tougher than normal steel that'd break when trying to cut through solid rock or metal, rather than for mystical reasons, right? So what about cold iron makes it inherently lawful? What about silver makes it inherently chaotic?
Since all of that derives from real world superstitions, those reasons would remain the same in game. It's not that cold iron is inherently lawful, and it's not that silver is inherently chaotic. If that were the case, then there'd be rules for how those materials bolster "allied alignments" and maybe even are more associated with lawful or chaotic spells and so on. That's not the case.
And frankly, I really kind of prefer it NOT being spelled out. Because doing so turns it into science, and this is not science.
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Creative Director
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Is there an in-universe reason why so many big events (aka Adventure Paths) are happening at the same time, or at least within a few years of each-other? Is it a delayed effect from Aroden's death or just coincidence?
Were there similar events (basically something similar to APs) that happened in Golarion's past? I realize we're not likely to see them due to the work that would be involved in writing sourcebooks set in the past, but if there were any, can you give any examples?
All those Adventure Paths happen close together ONLY if they do in YOUR specific game. They aren't at this point assumed to all be happening one after the other. They can happen (or not happen at all) in any order you want for your game.
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James Jacobs,
Now that Wes has beaten Eye of the Beholder II, do you think you guys will try your hand at Death Knights of Krynn now?
Nah. Those gold box games are super awesome fun, but I'm not sure how well they'd translate to a stream. We do have plans for what's next though!
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Hey James.
You know how a lot of effects can condemn a soul to go to the lower planes? Deals with contract devils, the Cacodaemon's Soul Lock ability, that sort of thing.
How much does Pharasma get involved in these things. Does she go along with it and deliberately send creatures to the lower planes if their souls were damned somehow (with or without their consent), or do those abilities bypass her judgement and "remove her from the loop", so to speak.
Thanks.
EDIT: Oh, and how much of a difference does it make if it is voluntary vs involuntary vs voluntary, but the creature was evil when it made the decision and later repented.
Sending condemned souls on to their punishment, regardless of how or why they got that way, is part of Pharasma's "job" and she goes along with it deliberately.
Voluntary vs. involuntary doesn't matter.
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Or another version of this question. When Pharasma makes a judgement is the prority what plane a soul deserves to go to, or which diety or domain has the best claim on it?Hey James.
You know how a lot of effects can condemn a soul to go to the lower planes? Deals with contract devils, the Cacodaemon's Soul Lock ability, that sort of thing.
How much does Pharasma get involved in these things. Does she go along with it and deliberately send creatures to the lower planes if their souls were damned somehow (with or without their consent), or do those abilities bypass her judgement and "remove her from the loop", so to speak.
Thanks.
EDIT: Oh, and how much of a difference does it make if it is voluntary vs involuntary vs voluntary, but the creature was evil when it made the decision and later repented.
It varies and is different with each soul. It's very complicated. More complicated than a mortal mind can understand, and thus not something that's worth quantifying rules for.
Nah. Those gold box games are super awesome fun, but I'm not sure how well they'd translate to a stream. We do have plans for what's next though!James Jacobs,
Now that Wes has beaten Eye of the Beholder II, do you think you guys will try your hand at Death Knights of Krynn now?
Really? And the whole watching Wes run into Walls is some how better?
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Really? And the whole watching Wes run into Walls is some how better?Nah. Those gold box games are super awesome fun, but I'm not sure how well they'd translate to a stream. We do have plans for what's next though!James Jacobs,
Now that Wes has beaten Eye of the Beholder II, do you think you guys will try your hand at Death Knights of Krynn now?
Yes, absolutely. I've actually tried some of those gold box games within the past 10 years, and even then they haven't aged all that well... Eye of the Beholder actually has a wide range of colors and sounds and stuff, plus has less micromanagement of things. I love the gold box games, don't get me wrong, but it's really hard to go back to them.
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What are the metaphysical reasons cold iron and alchemical silver/mithral penetrate the DR of chaotic and lawful beings respectively? I know it derives from the real-world superstitions that surround iron and silver, depicting them as banes of and talismans against the supernatural but what's the IN-UNIVERSE reason? Adamantine does the same thing for golems and robots just because it's tougher than normal steel that'd break when trying to cut through solid rock or metal, rather than for mystical reasons, right? So what about cold iron makes it inherently lawful? What about silver makes it inherently chaotic?Since all of that derives from real world superstitions, those reasons would remain the same in game. It's not that cold iron is inherently lawful, and it's not that silver is inherently chaotic. If that were the case, then there'd be rules for how those materials bolster "allied alignments" and maybe even are more associated with lawful or chaotic spells and so on. That's not the case.
And frankly, I really kind of prefer it NOT being spelled out. Because doing so turns it into science, and this is not science.
Isn't taking magic and doing science to it the whole point of being a wizard? :-P
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Isn't taking magic and doing science to it the whole point of being a wizard? :-PWhat are the metaphysical reasons cold iron and alchemical silver/mithral penetrate the DR of chaotic and lawful beings respectively? I know it derives from the real-world superstitions that surround iron and silver, depicting them as banes of and talismans against the supernatural but what's the IN-UNIVERSE reason? Adamantine does the same thing for golems and robots just because it's tougher than normal steel that'd break when trying to cut through solid rock or metal, rather than for mystical reasons, right? So what about cold iron makes it inherently lawful? What about silver makes it inherently chaotic?Since all of that derives from real world superstitions, those reasons would remain the same in game. It's not that cold iron is inherently lawful, and it's not that silver is inherently chaotic. If that were the case, then there'd be rules for how those materials bolster "allied alignments" and maybe even are more associated with lawful or chaotic spells and so on. That's not the case.
And frankly, I really kind of prefer it NOT being spelled out. Because doing so turns it into science, and this is not science.
Not in my opinion. That's MAYBE closer to an alchemist's point... but even then, you can't apply science to explain how a mutagen works any more than you can use science to explain how a fireball works. Or that is, you CAN, but then it's no longer in the fantasy genre, but the sci-fi genre. Doing so changes the whole flavor of the game.
Yes, absolutely. I've actually tried some of those gold box games within the past 10 years, and even then they haven't aged all that well... Eye of the Beholder actually has a wide range of colors and sounds and stuff, plus has less micromanagement of things. I love the gold box games, don't get me wrong, but it's really hard to go back to them.Really? And the whole watching Wes run into Walls is some how better?Nah. Those gold box games are super awesome fun, but I'm not sure how well they'd translate to a stream. We do have plans for what's next though!James Jacobs,
Now that Wes has beaten Eye of the Beholder II, do you think you guys will try your hand at Death Knights of Krynn now?
Alright then!
So according to Book 2 of Hell's Vengeance,
Hey JJ have you heard the "Lore" podcast? Each episode is about a "true life scary story". I'm completely hooked on it and thought it should be right up your alley.
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So according to Book 2 of Hell's Vengeance,
Spoiler:if you become a Thrune Bound Agent, your soul immediately gets sold to Asmodeus. What would happen if you had gained a Damnation Feat and pledged your soul to some other foul entity (e.g., gifting it to Ahriman via a div, a Qlippoth Lord, one of the Four Horsemen)? Does the soul still go to Asmodeus? Does it go to your original sponsor? Does it split in two?
I actually didn't work on that volume—the only one I did work on was part 5.
BUT as I understand it, it's a bit more complicated than that...
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Hey JJ have you heard the "Lore" podcast? Each episode is about a "true life scary story". I'm completely hooked on it and thought it should be right up your alley.
Haven't heard it, but sounds interesting.
I don't listen to podcasts these days though; no time, really. I used to listen to them all the time on my commute, when it was a 20 to 90 minute drive from home to work (depending on traffic), but now that I live about 50 to 120 seconds from work (depending on traffic), I don't really have the opportunity to just sit and listen to things. Since when I do, I generally also want to be watching things—aka a movie or a video game or a book or whatever.
Is there any more information on the Star Towers in print other than in Mythic Realms?
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Is there any more information on the Star Towers in print other than in Mythic Realms?
They were first created in Curse of the Crimson Throne—in "Skeletons of Scarwall" to be precise. They've likely been mentioned here and there elsewhere as well where we talk about Rovagug or Zon-Kuthon. But "Skeletons of Scarwall" is the genesis for them.
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Is there any more information on the Star Towers in print other than in Mythic Realms?They were first created in Curse of the Crimson Throne—in "Skeletons of Scarwall" to be precise. They've likely been mentioned here and there elsewhere as well where we talk about Rovagug or Zon-Kuthon. But "Skeletons of Scarwall" is the genesis for them.
One does play a part in Plague of Shadows by Andrew Jones :3
Hey JJ have you heard the "Lore" podcast? Each episode is about a "true life scary story". I'm completely hooked on it and thought it should be right up your alley.Haven't heard it, but sounds interesting.
I don't listen to podcasts these days though; no time, really. I used to listen to them all the time on my commute, when it was a 20 to 90 minute drive from home to work (depending on traffic), but now that I live about 50 to 120 seconds from work (depending on traffic), I don't really have the opportunity to just sit and listen to things. Since when I do, I generally also want to be watching things—aka a movie or a video game or a book or whatever.
Does this mean during a bad rush hour, it can take up to 3 minutes to get from home to work!? Oh, the inhumanity! :P
What was your favorite character type, ability wise, in Mass Effect? Also, what's your favorite store on the Citadel?
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Hey JJ have you heard the "Lore" podcast? Each episode is about a "true life scary story". I'm completely hooked on it and thought it should be right up your alley.Haven't heard it, but sounds interesting.
I don't listen to podcasts these days though; no time, really. I used to listen to them all the time on my commute, when it was a 20 to 90 minute drive from home to work (depending on traffic), but now that I live about 50 to 120 seconds from work (depending on traffic), I don't really have the opportunity to just sit and listen to things. Since when I do, I generally also want to be watching things—aka a movie or a video game or a book or whatever.
Does this mean during a bad rush hour, it can take up to 3 minutes to get from home to work!? Oh, the inhumanity! :P
What was your favorite character type, ability wise, in Mass Effect? Also, what's your favorite store on the Citadel?
Eew... if it's a 3 minute drive home, I'll just stay at work until that crazy traffic dies down. Or. You know. Just walk home.
My favorite character type in Mass Effect is a sniper techie who can tinker but also is good at being diplomatic/manipulative. As for stores... not sure.
James,
One of my characters, who is skilled in Heal but is rather ruthless, offered a very recently captured enemy (as in the previous round) to save her and her men if she surrendered, but kill all remaining in the camp if she tried to keep fighting, take her captive, and interrogate her to get the information that the party needed. The enemy in question went into full fanatic mode, so I followed up on my promise to show that I meant business. Now, in my opinion, if my character was good she would become neutral from that action. But my character is LN. Would executing enemies after she promised to do so if the leader wouldn't cooperate be considered enough for her to fall to evil?
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Hello James,
I'm running Kingmaker, and one of my players is a Fighter (Swordlord archetype). For his next level, he intends to take the Aldori prestige class, and is doing so for "fluff" reasons rather than "crunch." He is from Brevoy, and has trained in Restov with the swordlords as part of his backstory. I would like to make his advancement meaningful for him and feel, well, "prestigious!"
If it were your campaign, how would you handle the official advancement to a full Aldori Swordlord? Would it be a casual "you have earned the name Aldori" from his sponsor? Would you run a series of trials, some sort of "circle of death" marathon of duels? A complicated ritual brimming with tradition and symbolism? If not asking for the "official" description, of course--just what you might do in your campaign, if it came up.
Thanks in advance!
I'd probably do some sort of event where a bunch of new swordlords got together to show off their skills in a display type festival and then have some sort of scandal or tragedy break out that involved the PC and the rest of the party in some sort of intriguing encounter.
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James,
One of my characters, who is skilled in Heal but is rather ruthless, offered a very recently captured enemy (as in the previous round) to save her and her men if she surrendered, but kill all remaining in the camp if she tried to keep fighting, take her captive, and interrogate her to get the information that the party needed. The enemy in question went into full fanatic mode, so I followed up on my promise to show that I meant business. Now, in my opinion, if my character was good she would become neutral from that action. But my character is LN. Would executing enemies after she promised to do so if the leader wouldn't cooperate be considered enough for her to fall to evil?
The Heal skill has nothing to do with torturing someone. It's used to help someone RECOVER from torture. The skill you should use to torture someone is Intimidate, and whether or not the person gives up information, accurate or not, the torturer slips toward evil in alignment. To undo that drift the torturer would need to see atonement (including the spell), but in the meantime would run the risk of losing certain class abilities.
A character in that situation would indeed, in my game, shift from lawful neutral to lawful evil. The point at which that character gets to make the free-will choice to push the torture to such extremes that the victim dies... that's evil. And I would have let the player know that going into the situation.
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Which is best Shep: Paragon Shep or Renegade Shep?
I always ended up Paragon, but dipped into Renegade a fair amount. The renegade options were generally more amusing, but enough were so uncharacteristic for how I played her that I ended up the paragon route sort of by default.
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Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.
:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
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Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
I'm a fair bit in. Last boss I defeated was the deacon mob group in the cathedral. I'm on to the skeleton crypts now.
Do you use your Mac's ability to run Windows for gaming?
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I'm a fair bit in. Last boss I defeated was the deacon mob group in the cathedral. I'm on to the skeleton crypts now.Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
Ooooo that's where I'm at.
What did you think of the Abyss Watchers?
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Yarr!?"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"
What are good familiars for pirate spellcasters besides the obvious parrot?
Why WOULDN'T you go with a parrot? That seems PERFECT!
Other good choices, I guess, would be sea gull, monkey, or rat. All three of those would make sense on a ship.
Couldn't you just skip the middle man and just play a Parrot Pirate?
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I'm a fair bit in. Last boss I defeated was the deacon mob group in the cathedral. I'm on to the skeleton crypts now.Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
Ooooo that's where I'm at.
What did you think of the Abyss Watchers?
Fun fight, but I prefer the bosses who are more monstrous and unusual in shape.
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Fun fight, but I prefer the bosses who are more monstrous and unusual in shape.I'm a fair bit in. Last boss I defeated was the deacon mob group in the cathedral. I'm on to the skeleton crypts now.Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
Ooooo that's where I'm at.
What did you think of the Abyss Watchers?
Like the second stage of the first boss?
Also what sword did you pick with the Abyss Watchers soul? Probably the hardest decision I've made in the game thus far.
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Fun fight, but I prefer the bosses who are more monstrous and unusual in shape.I'm a fair bit in. Last boss I defeated was the deacon mob group in the cathedral. I'm on to the skeleton crypts now.Before you put a bunch of ranks in the Sniping skill did you sing "Awimbawe" while lining up a shot?Heh... no. I did not.:3
I actually made myself sad when I maxed out that skill, since it meant I couldn't play the sniping "minigame" anymore...
Question! How much farther have you gotten in Dark Souls 3?
Ooooo that's where I'm at.
What did you think of the Abyss Watchers?
Like the second stage of the first boss?
Also what sword did you pick with the Abyss Watchers soul? Probably the hardest decision I've made in the game thus far.
Exactly.
I'm not sure I made that sword decision yet for the Abyss Watchers; neither of the sword options particularly appeals to me so I'm just holding on to the soul and might just use it for its souls in the end.