Creative Director
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Is there a thematic reason why the synthesist is described as superimposed inside a ghostly eidolon?
Just a curiosity point on my part. I like the unchained summoners, by the way. whoever did those have my compliments.
No clue; that's what the design team went with. I guess they preferred that to a transporter mishap physical amalgamation? Dunno.
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I note that of the three deities associated with Golarion's typically neutral-aligned Stone giants, two are evil and one is neutral- is this a reflection of the fact that alignment aside, stone giants are often antagonists, or is it meant to be a legacy of their long servitude to the nastiness of Thassilon?
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Oh wise Tyrannosaur:
1. Have you seen either "The Shallows" or "Purge: Election Year" yet? I have seen the former but not the latter, so curious on your thoughts?
2. On a horror related note, are there specific themes or topics that just really get under your skin and creep you out, even as someone I assume is a hardened horror reader? Personally I find the idea of losing control of your own actions (ala the puppeteering in Carrion Comfort or the basic premises of Neuropath) terrifying.
3. Somewhat similar question, are there certain things which completely turn you off/sour you on a horror movie/book? I don't mean like basic craftmanship type of things (bad writing/acting, cheesy effects, etc), but rather topics you would just prefer not reading or watching. Since my parents got a new small dog I find I don't really like watching anything where a pet cat or dog dies (Especially if its played for humor).
1) Saw "The Shallows" and it was incredible. One of the best shark movies I've seen, one of the most intense PG 13 movies I've seen, and overall just a great movie. LOVED IT. Haven't seen the latest Purge movie yet... might do that today or tomorrow but I'm not sure.
2) Absolutely. Clowns are high up on that list.
3) Absolutely. Musicals sour me to horror. As does mixing it with disrespectful comedy. As does disrespecting the genre.
Are there any parodies or satire that you like?
Would you agree (or disagree) with the idea that sometimes genres get so cliche-ridden they're crying out for parodies to be made?
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I note that of the three deities associated with Golarion's typically neutral-aligned Stone giants, two are evil and one is neutral- is this a reflection of the fact that alignment aside, stone giants are often antagonists, or is it meant to be a legacy of their long servitude to the nastiness of Thassilon?
It's a combination of the legacy of servitude to Thassilon and the fact that giants skew toward evil on the whole.
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Are there any parodies or satire that you like?
Would you agree (or disagree) with the idea that sometimes genres get so cliche-ridden they're crying out for parodies to be made?
No parodies come to mind.
And I disagree that a genre can ever get too cliche-ridden. There's always something new to explore with any genre.
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I note that of the three deities associated with Golarion's typically neutral-aligned Stone giants, two are evil and one is neutral- is this a reflection of the fact that alignment aside, stone giants are often antagonists, or is it meant to be a legacy of their long servitude to the nastiness of Thassilon?It's a combination of the legacy of servitude to Thassilon and the fact that giants skew toward evil on the whole.
Out of curiosity, why is that? Because giants are so big they basically feel they can literally walk all over other races?
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Out of curiosity, why is that? Because giants are so big they basically feel they can literally walk all over other races?I note that of the three deities associated with Golarion's typically neutral-aligned Stone giants, two are evil and one is neutral- is this a reflection of the fact that alignment aside, stone giants are often antagonists, or is it meant to be a legacy of their long servitude to the nastiness of Thassilon?It's a combination of the legacy of servitude to Thassilon and the fact that giants skew toward evil on the whole.
The metagame reason is becasue that's what most giants tend to get set up as; evil, so they make monsters to fight.
The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.
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The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.
Disney is trying to change that it seems... LOL! ;)
...although there *are* some seemingly evil ones in the preview... :P
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The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.Disney is trying to change that it seems... LOL! ;)
...although there *are* some seemingly evil ones in the preview... :P
They did the good giant thing before in 1958's Paul Bunyan
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The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.Disney is trying to change that it seems... LOL! ;)
...although there *are* some seemingly evil ones in the preview... :P
Haven't seen the movie or read the book, but my understanding is that the plot is that ALL the giants are evil, and that the focus of the story is on the one friendly giant. Which supports my stance.
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No parodies come to mind.Are there any parodies or satire that you like?
Would you agree (or disagree) with the idea that sometimes genres get so cliche-ridden they're crying out for parodies to be made?
So, not a Mel Brooks fan, then?
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Haven't seen the movie or read the book, but my understanding is that the plot is that ALL the giants are evil, and that the focus of the story is on the one friendly giant. Which supports my stance.The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.Disney is trying to change that it seems... LOL! ;)
...although there *are* some seemingly evil ones in the preview... :P
So... he's the 'one good giant' in a sea of really, really bad giants? is R.A. Salvatore involved?
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So... he's the 'one good giant' in a sea of really, really bad giants? is R.A. Salvatore involved?Haven't seen the movie or read the book, but my understanding is that the plot is that ALL the giants are evil, and that the focus of the story is on the one friendly giant. Which supports my stance.The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.Disney is trying to change that it seems... LOL! ;)
...although there *are* some seemingly evil ones in the preview... :P
no
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1) What's some of books you remember particularly enjoying as a child?
2) What dream has stuck out in your mind as being the most disturbing or frightening to you, if any?
3) What's the first three monsters that pops into your head when reading this question, be it from an RPG, a movie, a novel, myth, legend, etc.?
1) Any book with dinosaur pictures when I was a little kid; my favorite early on was "The Wump World". This book is probably the most important one I ever read back in Elementary School, since it opened my eyes up to horror. At about the same time, my grandma got me into Stephen King; Pet Semetery was the first of his books I read cover to cover and that also had a pretty big influence on me.
2) Not one dream per se, but a theme; that of being killed by a tsunami.
3) Godzilla. Mothman. Cthulhu.
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James, have you ever read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
It's worth checking out for the illustrations alone.
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Good Morning James!
Here are a couple of off the cuff questions if you don't mind.
Do you have a favorite type (subgenre, style etc.) of horror?
Have you ever read The Talisman by Stephen King? Did you enjoy it? It strikes me as interesting that it could be fit into the urban fantasy genre before that was a category. Making him a pioneer of sorts.
Thanks again, and have a great rest of your week!
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James, have you ever read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
It's worth checking out for the illustrations alone.
Heh... of course I've read that one!
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Good Morning James!
Here are a couple of off the cuff questions if you don't mind.
Do you have a favorite type (subgenre, style etc.) of horror?
Have you ever read The Talisman by Stephen King? Did you enjoy it? It strikes me as interesting that it could be fit into the urban fantasy genre before that was a category. Making him a pioneer of sorts.
Thanks again, and have a great rest of your week!
Favorite subgenre of horror: Cosmic horror (AKA Lovecraft, Alien, The Thing, etc.)
Favorite subgenre of horror movie: found footageI've read "The Talisman," and its sequel, "Black House." Great books! One of the things that appealed to me the most was that it ended up landing in my home county in California, Mendocino County! WOO!
Somehow I didn't realize you were from California! That makes me wonder: are you a lifelong Westcoaster, or have you moved elsewhere? If so, where? What about places you've traveled? I feel like you've at least partially answered this one before, but I never have luck searching your thread, and I don't think it was me...
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Somehow I didn't realize you were from California! That makes me wonder: are you a lifelong Westcoaster, or have you moved elsewhere? If so, where? What about places you've traveled? I feel like you've at least partially answered this one before, but I never have luck searching your thread, and I don't think it was me...
I grew up in Point Arena, CA, on the northern California coast. Then I went to college, at UC Davis, which was five more years. After college, I moved up north to Seattle—that was the first time I'd ever been out of the state of California. Up here in Washington, I've lived three places—north Seattle, then Renton, then here in Redmond.
The only times I've ever been out of California or Washington (or Oregon since it's between the two) is when I flew out to Gen Con. One of these days I hope to actually travel somewhere not for work so I can actually enjoy the place I'm going (and actually go to a place that's enjoyable)... but so far, not yet.
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The only times I've ever been out of California or Washington (or Oregon since it's between the two) is when I flew out to Gen Con. One of these days I hope to actually travel somewhere not for work so I can actually enjoy the place I'm going (and actually go to a place that's enjoyable)... but so far, not yet.
While I love to travel, I do know a lot of people who don't. But if you're going to mostly stick areound one city, Seattle is an excellent place! (I've only been there twice, once for a professional conference in '07, and once for a week's vacation a year later. I had a great time both times! I was hoping to get to Paizocon this year, but it wasn't in the cards.)
Where would you like to travel to once you get the chance?
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The only times I've ever been out of California or Washington (or Oregon since it's between the two) is when I flew out to Gen Con. One of these days I hope to actually travel somewhere not for work so I can actually enjoy the place I'm going (and actually go to a place that's enjoyable)... but so far, not yet.While I love to travel, I do know a lot of people who don't. But if you're going to mostly stick areound one city, Seattle is an excellent place! (I've only been there twice, once for a professional conference in '07, and once for a week's vacation a year later. I had a great time both times! I was hoping to get to Paizocon this year, but it wasn't in the cards.)
Where would you like to travel to once you get the chance?
The west coast really does have a lot of reasons not to leave, that's for sure!
If I were to travel, the top 5 places I'd like to some day visit would be:
1) Antarctica
2) Scotland
3) Japan
4) Providence, RI
5) New Zealand
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The only times I've ever been out of California or Washington (or Oregon since it's between the two) is when I flew out to Gen Con. One of these days I hope to actually travel somewhere not for work so I can actually enjoy the place I'm going (and actually go to a place that's enjoyable)... but so far, not yet.While I love to travel, I do know a lot of people who don't. But if you're going to mostly stick areound one city, Seattle is an excellent place! (I've only been there twice, once for a professional conference in '07, and once for a week's vacation a year later. I had a great time both times! I was hoping to get to Paizocon this year, but it wasn't in the cards.)
Where would you like to travel to once you get the chance?
The west coast really does have a lot of reasons not to leave, that's for sure!
If I were to travel, the top 5 places I'd like to some day visit would be:
1) Antarctica
2) Scotland
3) Japan
4) Providence, RI
5) New Zealand
Department of Expectations Management: Antartica does not have natural rock formations.
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If I were to travel, the top 5 places I'd like to some day visit would be:
1) Antarctica
To feed the shoggoths? (No, not in that way.)
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Have finally picked up and read through the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition. Just wanted to start this off by saying good work to you and everyone else involved with it.
Now for a question. In building an NPC I have come to a standstill on whether to build him as a Magus or an eventual Eldritch Knight. The character is a Tiefling sellsword who I plan on being friendly to the PC's but occasionally being paid to work against their interests. I guess what I most want your opinion on is what is the difference between a Magus and an Eldritch Knight outside of the rules? Which classes attract which people? What are some different stereotypes between Magi and E.K's?
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To feed the shoggoths? (No, not in that way.)If I were to travel, the top 5 places I'd like to some day visit would be:
1) Antarctica
Heh; no. Because it's a beautiful region, I like the cold more than the hot, and it's isolated from the press of humanity.
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Have finally picked up and read through the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition. Just wanted to start this off by saying good work to you and everyone else involved with it.
Now for a question. In building an NPC I have come to a standstill on whether to build him as a Magus or an eventual Eldritch Knight. The character is a Tiefling sellsword who I plan on being friendly to the PC's but occasionally being paid to work against their interests. I guess what I most want your opinion on is what is the difference between a Magus and an Eldritch Knight outside of the rules? Which classes attract which people? What are some different stereotypes between Magi and E.K's?
When building NPCs for games you run, it's generally better to go with the class option you yourself are more familiar with and more comfortable running, all other options being equal. Apart from that, it's mostly just personal preference as to choices like this. Personally, I prefer the eldritch knight since it allows for much more customization than the magus, and because it's much less complicated to run.
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1) Antarctica
...
5) New Zealand
And since lots of antarctic expeditions leave from Invercargill (southernmost NZ city), you could kill two birds with one stone! So long as those birds aren't Kiwis, we don't have many of those left...
Do you have a favourite Lovecraftian monster?
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In regard to RPG products, what would you say are the most important roles that an editor performs? How about a developer?
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In regard to RPG products, what would you say are the most important roles that an editor performs? How about a developer?
Developers make the rules and story work. Editors make the language work. In theory, the developer (who goes first) also makes the language work, so that the editor has less work to do when she gets to it. And the editor acts as an additional set of eyes for development matters that may have slipped by the developer's pass.
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Cheers.
Can I ask whose responsibility it is to keep an eye on wordcount/room-for-art/etcetera?
Presumably it's important for the designer to be close to the assigned wordcount, but in the instance where they were to turn in something significantly outside the brief?
Actually - that's another question: How often do RPG writers submit work significantly outside the desired wordcount? (I have a client who puts together a magazine who frequently bemoans the fact his writers seem to quite casually go over the limits he sets).
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Do you have a favourite Lovecraftian monster?Shoggoth.
Yay, snap!
A follow-on question, then: do you have a favourite piece of art work that depicts a shoggoth? I always imagine it as a kind of enormous amoeba filled with eyes, but some pictures/miniatures are wildly different to that. (Of course, it could be me totally misreading/misremembering the description in Mountains of Madness.)
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random questions
do familiars have a increased lifespan?
do the demographics of populations of golorian cities(especially underdark ones) count slaves?
are demons the most populous race of fiends like they are in 3.5?
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The metagame reason is becasue that's what most giants tend to get set up as; evil, so they make monsters to fight.
The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.
Would you watch a soap opera about a love triangle between three giants in a settlement? They have needs, too.
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Cheers.
Can I ask whose responsibility it is to keep an eye on wordcount/room-for-art/etcetera?
Presumably it's important for the designer to be close to the assigned wordcount, but in the instance where they were to turn in something significantly outside the brief?
Actually - that's another question: How often do RPG writers submit work significantly outside the desired wordcount? (I have a client who puts together a magazine who frequently bemoans the fact his writers seem to quite casually go over the limits he sets).
It's the developer's job to manage the wordcounts. We know before we assign a project just how many words we have to play with, and when we assign the project to a freelancer, we'll tell them their wordcount. It's very important for the writer to get as close to that wordcount as possible—more than 5% over or short causes huge problems, since if that happens we either have to add text or cut text.
If a designer turns in something that's way over or short, we have, essentially, two options. We either return the manuscript to the freelancer and tell them to trim or add content until the wordcount is hit, or we do that job ourselves. If the latter, we generally don't use that freelancer again, unless there were extenuating circumstances.
RPG authors very often blow their word counts. I've had authors blow their word counts by tens of thousands of words... some over, some short. It's incredibly frustrating when it happens, but most of all when the author springs it on you as a surprise at the end of the process when you have no real time to fix it... other than working a few 80+ hour weeks to do their job on your own.
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Do you have a favourite Lovecraftian monster?Shoggoth.Yay, snap!
A follow-on question, then: do you have a favourite piece of art work that depicts a shoggoth? I always imagine it as a kind of enormous amoeba filled with eyes, but some pictures/miniatures are wildly different to that. (Of course, it could be me totally misreading/misremembering the description in Mountains of Madness.)
I'm pretty fond of the art we have for them in the Bestiary, but beyond that... this one's probably my current favorite. Or maybe this one for nostalgia's sake. Then there's this one, which is pretty off-model despite being the cover illustration of said creature's most notable original appearance in print!
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Heh; no. Because it's a beautiful region, I like the cold more than the hot, and it's isolated from the press of humanity.Do you think other 'races' of beings live there? #hollowworldtheory
Nope, I do not. But it's a rad bit of imaginative theory/fiction seed!
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random questions
do familiars have a increased lifespan?
do the demographics of populations of golorian cities(especially underdark ones) count slaves?
are demons the most populous race of fiends like they are in 3.5?
A familiar's lifespan is linked to its master/mistress, which may increase or decrease the familiar's normal life span.
Demographics count slaves when slaves are a part of the societ.
Yes.
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Would you watch a soap opera about a love triangle between three giants in a settlement? They have needs, too.The metagame reason is becasue that's what most giants tend to get set up as; evil, so they make monsters to fight.
The traditional reason is that in most cultures and mythology from the real world is that giants are usually cast in villain roles.
Don't watch soap operas. There's too many other shows in genres I enjoy to watch as it is.
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Does Absolom have a newspaper? How about any other major cities of Golarion?
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Nope, I do not. But it's a rad bit of imaginative theory/fiction seed!Heh; no. Because it's a beautiful region, I like the cold more than the hot, and it's isolated from the press of humanity.Do you think other 'races' of beings live there? #hollowworldtheory
Have you read or watched a youtube of Admiral Byrd's old post WWII reports from his trips to Antarctica? :)
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Does Absolom have a newspaper? How about any other major cities of Golarion?
If anywhere on Golarion has a newspaper, it'd be Absalom. The fact that we haven't said so yet after 10 years indicates that no, there are no newspapers on Golarion. There are certainly publications and periodicals, and might even have one-sheets in big cities that are distributed... but no analog to a modern newspaper, really.
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Have you read or watched a youtube of Admiral Byrd's old post WWII reports from his trips to Antarctica? :)Nope, I do not. But it's a rad bit of imaginative theory/fiction seed!Heh; no. Because it's a beautiful region, I like the cold more than the hot, and it's isolated from the press of humanity.Do you think other 'races' of beings live there? #hollowworldtheory
Nope.