Creative Director
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Where in the Inner Sea region did the Rhomphaia emerge from? Which culture/nation would you most likely find it in (you know, similar to how falcatas and the rondelero style originated in Taldor, or how earth breakers and klars are associated with the Shoanti)?
I ask because the Inner Sea region doesn't really have an analogue to the Thracians the same way viking warriors do with the Lands of the Linnorm Kings or how Minkai, Shokuro, Jinin and the Forest of Spirits portray different aspects of Japanese history and culture.
This is the first I've ver heard of that weapon, so... Probably somewhere in Casmaron I guess.
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Who did the stat block for Furcas in Hell Unleashed? In format and design philosophy it very closely matches your Demon Lord and other demigod stat blocks rather than the (inferior, IMO) Empyreal Lords in Bestiary 4 and Heaven Unleashed.
I wasn't involved in that book. My guess would be Wes.
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This is the first I've ver heard of that weapon, so... Probably somewhere in Casmaron I guess.Where in the Inner Sea region did the Rhomphaia emerge from? Which culture/nation would you most likely find it in (you know, similar to how falcatas and the rondelero style originated in Taldor, or how earth breakers and klars are associated with the Shoanti)?
I ask because the Inner Sea region doesn't really have an analogue to the Thracians the same way viking warriors do with the Lands of the Linnorm Kings or how Minkai, Shokuro, Jinin and the Forest of Spirits portray different aspects of Japanese history and culture.
That being the case then, what are some weapons that people would view as traditionally "Kellid" besides the obvious greatsword and greataxe?
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Creative Director
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That being the case then, what are some weapons that people would view as traditionally "Kellid" besides the obvious greatsword and greataxe?This is the first I've ver heard of that weapon, so... Probably somewhere in Casmaron I guess.Where in the Inner Sea region did the Rhomphaia emerge from? Which culture/nation would you most likely find it in (you know, similar to how falcatas and the rondelero style originated in Taldor, or how earth breakers and klars are associated with the Shoanti)?
I ask because the Inner Sea region doesn't really have an analogue to the Thracians the same way viking warriors do with the Lands of the Linnorm Kings or how Minkai, Shokuro, Jinin and the Forest of Spirits portray different aspects of Japanese history and culture.
Anything you see used in a Conan story. AKA: Eurocentric fantasy weapons.
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Has the design team thought about making changes to stat block, reorganizing them for better "flow" when reading/using the stats?
Do you have your own customer stat block for your gaming or do you use the Paizo default?
Nope.
I use the Paizo stat block for my own gaming needs. After using it for a decade or so, I'm pretty used to it.
Mr. James Jacobs,
What song would you suggest as a theme song for a paladin in love with his goddess?
In Bestiary 3, the void yai oni is listed as having no role. Is that correct? Somehow I don't think it is, since anything with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher can't be a no-role creature.
Also, how are elves Chaotic Good? "Chaotic" implies that a creature is passionate, free-spirited and expressive. The only elf on Golarion that I know of who matches this description is Merisiel.
Elves as a whole strike me as Lawful Neutral. They're isolationist, bound to traditions, and don't always play nice with other races.
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Nex was (or is still) a +20 level wizard with magic that apparently allows him to play with planes, and I had a powerful army right? So why did he fail in trying to take over Absalom?
That's unrevealed, but may be something we go into more detail some day. Suffice to say, Absalom's defenses at the time were up to the task of defending itself from Nex. How they defended it is currently not revealed, but the fact that they DID defend themselves from Nex should go a long way toward establishing Absalom as a place with a lot of protection.
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Creative Director
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In Bestiary 3, the void yai oni is listed as having no role. Is that correct? Somehow I don't think it is, since anything with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher can't be a no-role creature.
Also, how are elves Chaotic Good? "Chaotic" implies that a creature is passionate, free-spirited and expressive. The only elf on Golarion that I know of who matches this description is Merisiel.
Elves as a whole strike me as Lawful Neutral. They're isolationist, bound to traditions, and don't always play nice with other races.
I'm 100% sure that the void yai being listed as no role is an error; they should be combat role monsters.
And I'm not really into a full-on alignment debate... but! Suffice to say I feel that elves are chaotic. Isolationism can be as chaotic as lawful (we don't want to play by anyone else's rules! No laws are good enough! Etc.) Not sure where you're getting "bound to tradition" so much. And "not always playing nice" also seems more chaotic than lawful to me.
It turns out that gamers disagreeing on what an alignment means is as old as the notion of alignments in the system in the first place. That problem isn't going to be solved here.
Feel free to make elves lawful neutral in your game. They're chaotic good (normally) in Golarion.
Thanks for doing this, as it's extraordinarily helpful. I have a few questions about the Control Winds spell. Does this spell move with the caster, or is it immobile? My second, and more important, question is the spell lists Fortitude negates. Just what does fortitude negate? Does it only negate picking up/pushing enemies, or would it negate all the wind effects such as perception penalties, ranged attack penalties, fly penalties/etc?
Sorry, I forgot to ask - do multiple castings stack for wind speed, too?
Suffice to say I feel that elves are chaotic. Isolationism can be as chaotic as lawful (we don't want to play by anyone else's rules! No laws are good enough! Etc.) Not sure where you're getting "bound to tradition" so much. And "not always playing nice" also seems more chaotic than lawful to me.
Feel free to make elves lawful neutral in your game. They're chaotic good (normally) in Golarion.
I imagine that tolkien elves have a particularly strong grip as the 'default', and that an average player not incredibly into Golarion lore would project their style onto the Golarion elves. This is probably why people tend to see elves as LN. Archpaladin Zousha mentioned earlier in the thread the air of serenity and wisdom he felt elves were meant to represent. Inner Sea Races did a good job of summing up how Golarion elves are different and fit the CG standard, but not everyone has had a chance to read that book.
Now for the question!
Since Aroden's death, prophecy and fate have been 'broken'. What effect does this have on spells such as augury and divination? Is it a result of Aroden's death they have a failure chance? Or is that something GMs should account for individually in their games?
What about other sources such as 'spirits', for example? Can the future be reliably told, or is it all too foggy or ruined since Aroden's death that no seer is going to be able to accurately predict what's to come?
Anything filled with angst and regret.Mr. James Jacobs,
What song would you suggest as a theme song for a paladin in love with his goddess?
Even for paladins of Arshea?
What about Lymnieris, who's also both lawful good and sex-positive?
Nex was (or is still) a +20 level wizard with magic that apparently allows him to play with planes, and I had a powerful army right? So why did he fail in trying to take over Absalom?That's unrevealed, but may be something we go into more detail some day. Suffice to say, Absalom's defenses at the time were up to the task of defending itself from Nex. How they defended it is currently not revealed, but the fact that they DID defend themselves from Nex should go a long way toward establishing Absalom as a place with a lot of protection.
He had a [arty of 4 PCs on the payroll maybe?
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Creative Director
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Thanks for doing this, as it's extraordinarily helpful. I have a few questions about the Control Winds spell. Does this spell move with the caster, or is it immobile? My second, and more important, question is the spell lists Fortitude negates. Just what does fortitude negate? Does it only negate picking up/pushing enemies, or would it negate all the wind effects such as perception penalties, ranged attack penalties, fly penalties/etc?Sorry, I forgot to ask - do multiple castings stack for wind speed, too?
I'd say nope.
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Suffice to say I feel that elves are chaotic. Isolationism can be as chaotic as lawful (we don't want to play by anyone else's rules! No laws are good enough! Etc.) Not sure where you're getting "bound to tradition" so much. And "not always playing nice" also seems more chaotic than lawful to me.
Feel free to make elves lawful neutral in your game. They're chaotic good (normally) in Golarion.
I imagine that tolkien elves have a particularly strong grip as the 'default', and that an average player not incredibly into Golarion lore would project their style onto the Golarion elves. This is probably why people tend to see elves as LN. Archpaladin Zousha mentioned earlier in the thread the air of serenity and wisdom he felt elves were meant to represent. Inner Sea Races did a good job of summing up how Golarion elves are different and fit the CG standard, but not everyone has had a chance to read that book.
Now for the question!
Since Aroden's death, prophecy and fate have been 'broken'. What effect does this have on spells such as augury and divination? Is it a result of Aroden's death they have a failure chance? Or is that something GMs should account for individually in their games?
What about other sources such as 'spirits', for example? Can the future be reliably told, or is it all too foggy or ruined since Aroden's death that no seer is going to be able to accurately predict what's to come?
If you want to talk to me about elves as they exist in Pathfinder, though, you really SHOULD read what we have to say about them in Inner Sea Races. AKA: I don't have time to re-write that section in posts here on this board. Coming here to argue that elves in Tolkien are Lawful Neutral is an entirely different topic, and one that doesn't really have an answer since Tolkien didn't use the alignment system.
Prophecy is NOT augury nor divination. Those spells work the same as they always have, as detailed in the core rulebooks. There are no failure chances. And Aroden's death was not necessarily the cause of prophecy breaking; it's just as likely (perhaps MORE likely) merely a symptom of something else. Maybe.
The future cannot be reliably told. This is, in part, due to the fact that players have an EXCELLENT track record of going against the GM's anticipations. In a way, it was letting players play characters in the setting that "broke prophecy" in other words.
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Anything filled with angst and regret.Mr. James Jacobs,
What song would you suggest as a theme song for a paladin in love with his goddess?
Even for paladins of Arshea?
What about Lymnieris, who's also both lawful good and sex-positive?
My answer was a quick and snarky attempt at humor, because my real answer—"It depends entirely on the paladin's deity and the paladin's personality" is the boring one I always give whenever anyone asks me a far-too-broad question on this thread. Folks are often under the mistaken impression that all things of one category must always have the same answer to a question. In truth, what I'd suggest as a theme song for a paladin in love with his goddess would be different for a paladin of Iomedae vs. a paladin of Sarenrae. Just as it would be different for a mild-mannered bashful paladin of Sarenrae versus an outgoing paladin of Sarenrae versus an enigmatic mysterious paladin of Sarenrae.
Further complicating the matter is that I don't really have that extensive a selection of "theme songs" with lyrics. My favorite music tends to be instrumental.
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He had a [arty of 4 PCs on the payroll maybe?Nex was (or is still) a +20 level wizard with magic that apparently allows him to play with planes, and I had a powerful army right? So why did he fail in trying to take over Absalom?That's unrevealed, but may be something we go into more detail some day. Suffice to say, Absalom's defenses at the time were up to the task of defending itself from Nex. How they defended it is currently not revealed, but the fact that they DID defend themselves from Nex should go a long way toward establishing Absalom as a place with a lot of protection.
The implication that powerful heroes helped is certainly strong. Officially, if this were the case, it was a band of NPCs, but by keeping it mysterious, we allow GMs who are comfortable doing historical setting gaming to open that up to let their PCs be the ones to save the day. That's not something we'll ever write an adventure about, and as soon as we nail down the actual NPC heroes, a lot of GMs will feel like they're not allowed to change that in their game and allow the PCs to play that role, so I prefer staying vague about these topics as a result until the last minute whenever we DO decide to do more about it.
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How do the alghollthu (not sure if I spelled that right?) view the surface world? After all, the oceans are so much bigger than those areas that just happen to be not covered in water...do they view it as a seldom-traveled and hostile part of their territory, much like we still view mountains as being part of various nations despite not living in them, sometimes requiring special gear to travel to and not being very comfortable? Or is it viewed more as territory that used to belong to them, but was reclaimed by wilderness while they turned their attention to other things, like territory that's essentially been taken over by wild animals that they either haven't been able to or haven't had the time to take care of properly? Or do they acknowledge humanity as an actual enemy who has taken territory that used to essentially be theirs, and needs to be dealt with in the long term, even if it's territory they probably think of as hostile, unpleasant, and unimportant?
Also, did the alghollthu and serpentfolk interact with each other in any significant way when the serpentfolk were dominant on the surface world? Also, did the serpentfolk have their own name for their race? Serpentfolk seems like a name humanity made up...
Finally, did the ancient troglodyte and cyclops civilizations exist around the same time as the serpentfolk's, or did they only pop up after the serpentfolk fell?
They view the surface world as an inhospitable realm of pests and frustrating annoyances that resist extermination even though extermination is more than they deserve.
They did not significantly interact with the serpentfolk; when they did, it was mostly as enemies.
Do you know if the Pathfinder Comic book is continuing? I don't see any new releases after Hollow Mountain #6.
Btw, Hollow Mountain was great!
What do you look for when determining a monster's "role"? Would you consider Anti-Paladin levels to be Key for a Minotaur? Reason I ask is that the Bestiary says Paladin is never Key for a monster.
Did you realize you missed this pair of questions at the bottom of the last page, James?
Thanks for doing this, as it's extraordinarily helpful. I have a few questions about the Control Winds spell. Does this spell move with the caster, or is it immobile? My second, and more important, question is the spell lists Fortitude negates. Just what does fortitude negate? Does it only negate picking up/pushing enemies, or would it negate all the wind effects such as perception penalties, ranged attack penalties, fly penalties/etc?
Gust of Wind has similar wording where creatures in the area seem to get two chances to save, a Fort save to negate and a Fly check or Str check to avoid the effects of the spell.
JB's question reminds me...
How does one determine which non-core classes are key for advancing monsters?
Take the magus, for instance. I can't tell if it's a spell, skill, or combat role.
Do you know if the Pathfinder Comic book is continuing? I don't see any new releases after Hollow Mountain #6.
Btw, Hollow Mountain was great!
What do you look for when determining a monster's "role"? Would you consider Anti-Paladin levels to be Key for a Minotaur? Reason I ask is that the Bestiary says Paladin is never Key for a monster.
Because I'm a git.
Key?
Where do I find this reference?
Very first bestiary, the Advancing a Monster appendix.
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Do you know if the Pathfinder Comic book is continuing? I don't see any new releases after Hollow Mountain #6.
Btw, Hollow Mountain was great!
What do you look for when determining a monster's "role"? Would you consider Anti-Paladin levels to be Key for a Minotaur? Reason I ask is that the Bestiary says Paladin is never Key for a monster.
I do know if the comic is continuing beyond Hollow Mountain, but I'm not the one to say it is or isn't if we haven't announced a yes or no for that elsewhere.
What I look for when determining a monster's role varies per the role:
ANY ROLE: This is any zero HD monster race who is defined by its class levels.
COMBAT ROLE: This is the default for an intelligent monster that doesn't fit another role.
NO ROLE: This is the role for unintelligent monsters, or creatures with a 1 or 2 Intelligence; these creatures are not smart enough to gain class levels.
SKILL ROLE: This is the hardest to define, but basically, if a monster has racial sneak attack dice or if it has a LOT of skill-associated stuff going on or it's incorporeal and can't cast spells it goes here.
SPECIAL ROLE: This is a catch all for monsters that don't fit any other role well for various reasons.
SPELL ROLE: This is for any monster that has a class-like spellcasting ability.
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Did you realize you missed this pair of questions at the bottom of the last page, James?
Thanks for doing this, as it's extraordinarily helpful. I have a few questions about the Control Winds spell. Does this spell move with the caster, or is it immobile? My second, and more important, question is the spell lists Fortitude negates. Just what does fortitude negate? Does it only negate picking up/pushing enemies, or would it negate all the wind effects such as perception penalties, ranged attack penalties, fly penalties/etc?Gust of Wind has similar wording where creatures in the area seem to get two chances to save, a Fort save to negate and a Fly check or Str check to avoid the effects of the spell.
If I missed a question, obviously I didn't realize it.
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JB's question reminds me...
How does one determine which non-core classes are key for advancing monsters?
Take the magus, for instance. I can't tell if it's a spell, skill, or combat role.
If it casts spells and doesn't have a full BAB progression, it's a spell role class.
If it doesn't have a full BAB progression and has a focus on skills, it's a skill role class.
If it's a full BAB class, it's a combat role class.
It's possible for a class to fit multiple roles. For example, bard is normally a skill role class, but for something like a lillend, which casts spells as a bard, bard is a spell role class. Ranger is normally a combat role class, but if there were a monster that got ranger spellcasting (I don't think there is) it would also count as a spell role class.
There's some flexibility in determining things here; in the end, you should compare the final monster's capabilities to Table 1–1 and use common sense to make the final call.
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Are there any dinosaurs within 500 miles of numeria that you all included?
Visions of an armed, armored and domesticated or dominated T-rex numeria style are dancing in my head.
The natural, and wholesome counter to annihilator robots in my mind.
Dinosaurs could in theory appear anywhere in the form of imported exotic pets or guardians. The closest place that has dinosaurs occurring naturally to Numeria would be in Deep Tolguth below the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. There could easily be a buried biological habitat dome type spaceship with dinosaurs inside it too.
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How do giant bees (from Bestiary 2, specifically) get enough nectar to supply their hives? Are there giant flowers in the ecosystems one finds giant bees in? Or do they need to harvest from HUNDREDS of regular-sized flowers to make up for it?
I would guess they'd have to live in a region with giant flowers, or with lots of big but still normal size flowers. OR they dwell in magic areas where that stuff's magically generated I guess.
Dinosaurs could in theory appear anywhere in the form of imported exotic pets or guardians. The closest place that has dinosaurs occurring naturally to Numeria would be in Deep Tolguth below the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. There could easily be a buried biological habitat dome type spaceship with dinosaurs inside it too.Are there any dinosaurs within 500 miles of numeria that you all included?
Visions of an armed, armored and domesticated or dominated T-rex numeria style are dancing in my head.
The natural, and wholesome counter to annihilator robots in my mind.
Whoa whoa whoa... are you suggesting that there might be dinosaurs ON A SPACESHIP?
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Whoa whoa whoa... are you suggesting that there might be dinosaurs ON A SPACESHIP?Dinosaurs could in theory appear anywhere in the form of imported exotic pets or guardians. The closest place that has dinosaurs occurring naturally to Numeria would be in Deep Tolguth below the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. There could easily be a buried biological habitat dome type spaceship with dinosaurs inside it too.Are there any dinosaurs within 500 miles of numeria that you all included?
Visions of an armed, armored and domesticated or dominated T-rex numeria style are dancing in my head.
The natural, and wholesome counter to annihilator robots in my mind.
In fact, that's exactly what I'm suggesting, and in fact in Iron Gods this more or less exactly happens.
JB's question reminds me...
How does one determine which non-core classes are key for advancing monsters?
Take the magus, for instance. I can't tell if it's a spell, skill, or combat role.
If it casts spells and doesn't have a full BAB progression, it's a spell role class.
If it doesn't have a full BAB progression and has a focus on skills, it's a skill role class.
If it's a full BAB class, it's a combat role class.
It's possible for a class to fit multiple roles. For example, bard is normally a skill role class, but for something like a lillend, which casts spells as a bard, bard is a spell role class. Ranger is normally a combat role class, but if there were a monster that got ranger spellcasting (I don't think there is) it would also count as a spell role class.
There's some flexibility in determining things here; in the end, you should compare the final monster's capabilities to Table 1–1 and use common sense to make the final call.
This still leaves the question of the monk (outside of Unchained, anyway) and the kineticist. They don't have enough skills for that role, don't cast spells, and don't have a full BAB progression. There's also the medium (paladin-level casting, not many skills, no full BAB), but you didn't work on Occult Adventures.
But so far as I understand...
Combat: antipaladin, barbarian, bloodrager, brawler, cavalier, fighter, gunslinger, paladin, ranger, samurai, slayer, swashbuckler
Skill: alchemist, bard, hunter, inquisitor, investigator, mesmerist, ninja, ranger, rogue, slayer, vigilante
Spell: arcanist, bard, cleric, druid, hunter, inquisitor, magus, mesmerist, occultist, oracle, psychic, shaman, skald, sorcerer, spiritualist, summoner, warpriest, witch, wizard
Doesn't Quite Fit Anywhere: kineticist, medium, monk
Does that look about right?
Is there a sample statblock for an intelligent magic weapon somewhere? Or a standard NPC template (I'm thinking such a weapon would be equivalent to an NPC)?
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ok i will do it, but what you think of the regeneration vs wail of the banshee? creatures with regeneration can be killed with death effect but, this is a death effect that causes damage...
Regardless of whether it does damage or not, it's a death effect, and thus can kill creatures with regeneration.
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JB's question reminds me...
How does one determine which non-core classes are key for advancing monsters?
Take the magus, for instance. I can't tell if it's a spell, skill, or combat role.
If it casts spells and doesn't have a full BAB progression, it's a spell role class.
If it doesn't have a full BAB progression and has a focus on skills, it's a skill role class.
If it's a full BAB class, it's a combat role class.
It's possible for a class to fit multiple roles. For example, bard is normally a skill role class, but for something like a lillend, which casts spells as a bard, bard is a spell role class. Ranger is normally a combat role class, but if there were a monster that got ranger spellcasting (I don't think there is) it would also count as a spell role class.
There's some flexibility in determining things here; in the end, you should compare the final monster's capabilities to Table 1–1 and use common sense to make the final call.
This still leaves the question of the monk (outside of Unchained, anyway) and the kineticist. They don't have enough skills for that role, don't cast spells, and don't have a full BAB progression. There's also the medium (paladin-level casting, not many skills, no full BAB), but you didn't work on Occult Adventures.
But so far as I understand...
** spoiler omitted **
Does that look about right?
More or less, but again, you HAVE to be flexible. If you add class levels to a monster, sometimes those levels will work better than others. Use key roles as a starting point and as you play with the monsters in your game you'll get more and more comfortable at deciding what monsters and classes are key combinations in your game.
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Is there a sample statblock for an intelligent magic weapon somewhere? Or a standard NPC template (I'm thinking such a weapon would be equivalent to an NPC)?
Ultimate Equipment. Many Adventure Paths have at least one example of an intelligent weapon as well. Intelligent weapons don't get the same stats a full-fledged NPC gets because they've a LOT less information.
Thanks, James.
Do drow, orcs, and other chaotic evil races make friends (among themselves or with others)?
And I mean actual friends, not "people I tolerate just long enough for them to be useful before betraying them." Drow in particular seem almost incapable of trust. Which is justified, considering they live with, you know, drow...
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Do drow, orcs, and other chaotic evil races make friends (among themselves or with others)?
And I mean actual friends, not "people I tolerate just long enough for them to be useful before betraying them." Drow in particular seem almost incapable of trust. Which is justified, considering they live with, you know, drow...
Friendship as an inherently good thing, so for all evil creatures, it's difficult to make and keep friends. An evil creature can certainly make friends, but it's probably just a matter of time before that friendship ends via betrayal or something along those lines.
Chaos and law really have nothing to do with it.
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James why are so may evil female NPC's depicted as bald tattoed and pierced? The only female baddie that I can think of who is not drawn that way is Queeen Abrogail the II. Could Pazio make more female baddies that don't look they just escaped from Nidal or is that just the Female baddie fashion in Golarion?