Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If the character is an NPC, absolutely. NPCs don't gain experience points. Whether or not an NPC levels up depends ENTIRELY on the GM's whim.This answer completely discounts any connection between the game world and what the metagame constructions are supposed to represent.
As most people I know think that either the game world evolves from the rules, or the rules represent the game world occasionally imperfectly, and a very few think a mix (most who say a mix upon further investigation actually believe one or the other, usually the latter).
So this leads to my questions, A, how do you view the connection between the rules, the game world, and what the rules mean in the game world? and B, what exactly do you think levels represent in the game world?
Also, what is the yellow sign mentioned earlier?
Lastly, I will make and present to you a goblin named Senior Vorpal Kickasso, or similar, who has 1 level in lots of classes.
It absolutely does. PCs are supposed to be special and unique. They are not NPCs, and they play by different rules. The game world is represented by rules, but the rules should NEVER hamper/hinder stories you want to tell in the game... and in the end, the creator of the story, be it a GM or an author or a developer or whoever... THAT'S the person who makes the decisions about the plot.
Rules exist for two reasons:
1) to support the game world, and if the game world wants to do something different, then the creator of that story gets to bend or break or invent new rules.
2) Because it's a game. Rules exist so that there's an element of challenge to the game, and as a tool for players and the GM to simulate the events that play out in the game. Without the rules, there is no game, but there's still a world that can grow and expand as long as anyone wants to keep telling stories in that world.
In world, character levels represent skill and talent and power and memory and destiny.
Just because something can be made, doesn't mean it should be made. I could make a milkshake out of grass clippings, tonails, horse-flesh ice cream, rancid rat milk, sardines, spiders, and peanut butter I scraped up from the floor of a movie theater. Doesn't mean I should! :-P
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
If someone was making their own fantasy setting purely from scratch and you could only give them three pieces of basic world-building advice, what would they be? (If you'd absolutely have to give more than three, go ahead, three just seems like a good number for keeping it simple)
1) Start small. Begin by building a village in a rural area.
2) Read voraciously/game voraciously/watch voraciously for inspiration.
3) Every time you answer a mystery about your world, pose two more new mysteries to replace the one you answered.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
You'll do who to the what, now?Lastly, I will make and present to you a goblin named Senior Vorpal Kickasso, or similar, who has 1 level in lots of classes.
Yea, I'll do it, and I can do it without a chicka over the n and without an apostrophe in preposterous places.
:)On a more serious side, what would you think James of some multiclass rules that allowed you to take multiple classes each lvl? (probably slowing down ability choices or something)
PS do you catch the reference?
You can already multiclass for each level. No need for new rules at all. In fact, I put just such a character into my Magnimar book; Billiver Biliven is a CN male gnome alchemist 2/bard 1/cleric of Sivanah 1/sorcerer 1/wizard 2. He takes a 2nd level in a class now and then because he doesn't want to be predictable.
Still can't multiclass at 1st level which makes hard to have a character that studies a dual path. Thankfully Pathfinder removed the restriction disallowing a monk to start taking monk levels after taking another class. (gave me lots of trouble in 3.x)
Big question, have you read the comic Goblins? Do you like it?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hey James, has something like the Columbian exchange happened yet on Golarion? I am mostly curious if people in the inner sea could buy the fruits and vegetables not native to Europe. (Corn, potato, yam, tomato, tobacco)
No analog to the "Columbian exchange" really happened, but things like that are quite available to folks in the Inner Sea region. Many of these crops are in fact native to the region (particularly potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco).
|
Creative Director
|
Still can't multiclass at 1st level which makes hard to have a character that studies a dual path. Thankfully Pathfinder removed the restriction disallowing a monk to start taking monk levels after taking another class. (gave me lots of trouble in 3.x)
Big question, have you read the comic Goblins? Do you like it?
Ah; I see what you're saying... but the concept of "multiclassing" at first level is nonsensical. Check out the magus or the hybrid classes in Advanced Class Guide for our version of what you're looking for.
I read the scripts for all the comics and have approval over them before they're sent to the artists, but rarely go back and read them in their final form.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Wrong comics.
Try this,
http://www.goblinscomic.org/
This page is Senor Vorpal Kickass'o, a level 1 character that has 1/11 of a level in 11 classes.
http://www.goblinscomic.org/09022005
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hybrid classes are neat, but hardly cover every combo, certainly not some of the combos I want, such as monk/sorcerer (or what I'd really like, monk/spontaneous casting wizard, since I have a strong distaste for prepared casting). Other combos I often like are cleric/wizard (flavorwise, I could never bring myself to actually play such a prepared caster. Got close with oracle/sorcerer then mystic theurge though), or rogue/sorcerer.
I also like the triclass, monk/rogue/sorcerer, unarmed strike with sneak attack and an attached shocking grasp is awesome, especially when I critted the one time I actually managed to pull it off.
I also want a fighter/sorcerer, but not really the magus style. The majority of the magus abilities are things I'd never use or want as a fighter/sorcerer.
It boils down to needing to make up new stuff either way, so why not make something that makes it easier to mix what exists rather than making a new class? (well business-wise, new classes are more splats to sell, but as a player, easier to use existing stuff is better output for the invested time)
|
Creative Director
|
Wrong comics.
Try this,
http://www.goblinscomic.org/This page is Senor Vorpal Kickass'o, a level 1 character that has 1/11 of a level in 11 classes.
http://www.goblinscomic.org/09022005
Never heard of it. Doesn't really look all that interesting to me though... not really a fan of the art style, nor am I a big fan of the "metagame" style of comic like this or what you see in something like Order of the Stick.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Can't really compare with order of the stick since I haven't read that, but I do like this since it is all from an in world view and the story not only exists consistently and constantly, , but it never does the newspaper comic strip thing, nor breaks into the meta, out of world, more like the rules such as classes are inherent in the world itself.
Sorry you don't like it, the story would have been awesome I think.
The creator is bringing out a Goblins game though, so you might look into that when it is ready, maybe you guys can even be a distributor.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
James, I've got a question on a Paladin traveling/adventuring with a inquisitor of Asmodeous that is Lawful evil [Inquisitor is now a unique Devil started out a a pit fiend bound but has been promoted and remade as
for various acts that he committed in the course of the game we are 16th level 2nd tier mythic] would the Paladin be in danger of losing his Paladin powers just because of his choice of traveling companions.
When The Inquisitor chooses to commit morally questionable [ as the Paladin might see them] acts he will send the Paladin to do something else to further the parties goals while he does what needs to be done.
Quite often the Inquisitor will remind the Paladin that acts he is considering are not things a Paladin should think of send the Paladin away and then do them himself as he does not have the same moral strictures as his friend the Paladin. The Paladins God knows that the two are traveling together as they have encountered an avatar of the Deity in the course of the game.
James on a side note, do Gods know what their clerics, paladins, Inquisitors and oracles do just by the fact that they grant them spells and other powers?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The creator is bringing out a Goblins game though, so you might look into that when it is ready, maybe you guys can even be a distributor.
As a general rule in that kind of situation, it's the game creator who should come to Paizo to talk about selling on the store or that type of thing. We generally don't look into new games like that. We've got enough going on with our own games. ;-P
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
1. What color is Alexeara Cansellarion's hair and eyes?
2. What do you think about the idea of homebrew Glorious Reclamation campaign?
3. What would be a good 1st-level quest for a bunch of Glorious Reclamation PCs; an anti-Thrune mission that some low-level initiates could handle?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If someone was making their own fantasy setting purely from scratch and you could only give them three pieces of basic world-building advice, what would they be? (If you'd absolutely have to give more than three, go ahead, three just seems like a good number for keeping it simple)
1. Go Wild
2. Be Inventive.
3. If this world flames out, you can always build another.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Art question!
Why are Urdefhan always wearing leather strips over their eyes, is it just because it makes them look cool, or is there a reason behind it. :-)
Have a splendid weekend!
Because that's something that kinda got latched onto, I guess. There's not really any in-world reason for it. And indeed it makes no sense for their stats since they have to be able to see. In my homebrew, where they come from, they have red eyes that look creepy because you can see through the eyelids.
They've proven to be one of the most difficult things to get illustrated "right" for whatever reason, though.
I think it says in Darklands Revisited that they have an eye at the back of their mouths that the Urdefhan believe sees better than their other two,so they tend to cover their eyes and keep their mouths agape. I am curious as to whether this was made to justify the design or if it was predetermined.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So level 20 Wizards are the shapers of nations, level 20 Fighters are the slayers of tyrants, level 20 bards and experts are artisans that create masterpieces, and a level 20 Alchemist reversed aging. If we assume it is possible to gather the levels what would a level 20 Commoner be?I don't believe we ever said any of the above. A level 20 bard can be a slayer of tyrants. A Level 20 wizard can reverse aging. Grouping bards and experts in the same category is kinda silly too.
I'm pretty sure that although the rules allow for a 20th level commoner that no such thing has ever or will ever exist in print for Pathfinder. Commoners above 8th level are pretty, well.. UNcommon. Those above 12th? I doubt they exist.
Likewise, while you can build a character who takes a new class each time she levels up... I doubt that any character like this exists. Just because you CAN build something with the rules doesn't by any means guarantee that thing should exist in world.
Sorry I phrased the question pretty poorly, and I suppose if I care that much about a lvl 20 Commoner I should make it myself.
How are crimes handled with the existence of magic? Is Diviniation used to get clues, is Speak with Dead used a lot? Is the Suggestion/Dominate person defense viable? Any qualms with using Charm spells to gather information?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
1. What color is Alexeara Cansellarion's hair and eyes?
2. What do you think about the idea of homebrew Glorious Reclamation campaign?
3. What would be a good 1st-level quest for a bunch of Glorious Reclamation PCs; an anti-Thrune mission that some low-level initiates could handle?
1) Have no idea. I've not reached the point where I've encountered her in that campaign (we're still about 1/2 way through the first book). Good question for Rob though, I guess. Or if you have the volume with her npc writeup, her art will help you.
2) Not interesting to me.
3) Anything that starts them down the road toward reclaiming Chelaix, I guess. Dunno. I'm playing in that AP. I didn't write/outline/develop it. AKA: Glorious Reclamation characters are for KILLING!!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What font do you prefer to write in?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If someone was making their own fantasy setting purely from scratch and you could only give them three pieces of basic world-building advice, what would they be? (If you'd absolutely have to give more than three, go ahead, three just seems like a good number for keeping it simple)1. Go Wild
2. Be Inventive.
3. If this world flames out, you can always build another.
Please don't help. This thread is for me to answer questions, not everyone to answer questions.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think it says in Darklands Revisited that they have an eye at the back of their mouths that the Urdefhan believe sees better than their other two,so they tend to cover their eyes and keep their mouths agape. I am curious as to whether this was made to justify the design or if it was predetermined.Art question!
Why are Urdefhan always wearing leather strips over their eyes, is it just because it makes them look cool, or is there a reason behind it. :-)
Have a splendid weekend!
Because that's something that kinda got latched onto, I guess. There's not really any in-world reason for it. And indeed it makes no sense for their stats since they have to be able to see. In my homebrew, where they come from, they have red eyes that look creepy because you can see through the eyelids.
They've proven to be one of the most difficult things to get illustrated "right" for whatever reason, though.
It was a decision by the artist that keeps getting picked up and carried through. The "eye at the back of their mouths" is silly, I think... not a direction I would have taken them if I had written that book or developed it. Urdefhans are increasingly becoming an EXCELLENT example of a race that had a huge role to play in my homebrew but the longer they're in Golarion, the more alien to me they become.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How are crimes handled with the existence of magic? Is Diviniation used to get clues, is Speak with Dead used a lot? Is the Suggestion/Dominate person defense viable? Any qualms with using Charm spells to gather information?
It varies by region and by nation. Just as magic is used in ALL sorts of different ways to say, fight monsters, explore ruins, wage wars, get revenge, create treasure, and everything else, how magic is used to handle crimes varies as well. We've LOTS of examples of how this happens in our adventures.
That said... keep in mind that just because you see PCs reach high level often and just because we publish lots of adventures for them doesn't mean every city and town has spellcasters who are available to cast spells or WILLING to cast spells to help with solving crimes. But yes... speak with dead, mind control, and thought reading all happen with relative frequency... but are also NOT used because that requires a LOT of trust in the spellcaster that they're not going to use their magic to further their own agenda, so in just as many regions, magic is used only as an extra tool or even not at all.
|
Creative Director
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Does bustin' make you feel good?
Not particularly.
I haven't seen the new Ghostbusters movie yet. I an DELIGHTED that the ghostbusters this time around are all women; I think that more movies should do stuff like this, and I hope the movie's success in the face of the haters and misogynists is proof to Hollywood and the world at large that we WANT more women in movies, in roles that aren't defined by the woman needing to be a mother or a nurse or a girlfriend or whatever. But beyond this "ABOUT DAMN TIME" element of the movie... there's not much about the movie from it's trailers or from what I've heard that makes me eager to see it.
This is, of course, complicated by the fact that all of my friends who have seen it have LOVED LOVED LOVED it. And that sort of triggers a warning bell in my head. More often than not, when there's a big popcorn/summer movie like this and everyone else seems to love it, I end up watching the movie and either don't like it or simply like it. AKA: If everyone around me gives it an A+, I'd give the movie in question a B or even a B–. Which still means I liked the movie and am glad I saw it, but when other people who LOVE something are confronted with someone who only likes it, they get weirdly defensive and crusade to try to explain to me why I should like it... perhaps not exactly like that, but they start talking about the parts that they felt made it a GREAT movie and I get the vibe that they think that I simply didn't pick up on that and if I learned about it I would suddenly change my mind.
But here's the thing.
I've been watching movies for close to 40 years. I've been reading and writing for about the same amount of time. I do have a pretty good grasp of what makes a story good or bad, particularly what makes one good or bad to me. I also understand that sometimes, what makes a story good for me makes it bad for others–I love Blair Witch Project, for example, but a lot of folks whose movie opinions I trust hate that movie. I get it, and I don't try to convince them to love it, because I respect their opinions.
I don't enjoy when friends don't pay me the same respect.
I've been through this a fair amount... most often, recently, with superhero movies. There's been a few that I've legitimately LOVED, like "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the Nolan Batman movies, but many of them I only enjoy and never feel the need to watch again. I've only seen the Avengers once, and don't feel the urge to see it again. Same goes for the Thor movies, the Iron Man movies, Deadpool, etc. Fun movies, but none of them are "A" movies to me (like Guardians was, and which I've seen more than once as a result). Note that this can also go in reverse. I quite loved "Jurassic World" and the new Godzilla movie was GREAT (as in I saw it twice on opening day great), but when folks I talk to are lukewarm on the movie, I generally just pull back and stop the conversation. No need for me to blather about it and annoy them, and I'm not interested in them trying to tell me why they feel it was a mediocre movie.
So... I've not yet seen the new Ghostbusters, and there's a very good chance I won't see it in theaters. If I do... It'll probably be on my own. More likely, I'll wait to see it on DVD/Netflix/whatever. Instead, I went to see "Lights Out" this weekend, which was a pretty average horror movie with a few nifty elements to it.
Whew... long answer to a short question. I'll spoiler the above to cut down on the wall of text syndrome.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm less than enthused by the Urdefahns we've gotten- apart from eyeballs in mouths and self-blindfolding fashion choices, what are the other major differences between PF Urdefahns and the original James Jacobs version?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Oh Mighty T-Rex,
The group that my friend and I run can only be charitably be called a group. Since we run our game in a public place, and the whole thing is actually a way to get more people interested in RPGs, we have people dropping in and out constantly, and a veritable flood of new players.
Don't get me wrong, I love this! It's fun introducing a bunch of new people to the game, they often come up with fun and interesting ideas that our vets, set in their ways as they are, didn't even think of. But, it's created a bit of a problem for us.
It's rather difficult crafting adventures with how that other than our few vets, different peoples' interests vary wildly as they come to our table, and we often don't know who's coming in advance. In addition, it takes an hour out of our game time to make new characters for the newcomers, and its difficult to explain what already happened in the campaign to new people.
The other DM and I have bounced around a few ideas (creating modular, mostly self-contained adventures with a myth arc, using pregens, perhaps converting a system that's a bit more simple than PF), but what's your take?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
1. Speaking of movies, did you hear that the Adam Wingard ("Your Next, etc.) movie "The Woods" was announced at comic con with a new name, "The Blair Witch"?
2. Does this make you more excited or less? I love that director and was excited, but admittedly the idea of an original movie from him is somewhat more appealing than a sequel to a franchise that hasn't had a new entry in quite awhile.
3. Do you have a current favorite "active" director of movies (horror or otherwise), a director that automatically makes you pay attention to their next project?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm less than enthused by the Urdefahns we've gotten- apart from eyeballs in mouths and self-blindfolding fashion choices, what are the other major differences between PF Urdefahns and the original James Jacobs version?
The urdefhans in my setting are surface dwellers, where they rule a mountain realm called Orv. They are masterminds of weapon invention, and particularly enjoy inventing weapons that torture and torment foes during battles.
That said... check out their initial write-up and info in "Into the Darklands." That's the incarnation of the urdefhan that was closest to my homebrew.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Oh Mighty T-Rex,
The group that my friend and I run can only be charitably be called a group. Since we run our game in a public place, and the whole thing is actually a way to get more people interested in RPGs, we have people dropping in and out constantly, and a veritable flood of new players.
Don't get me wrong, I love this! It's fun introducing a bunch of new people to the game, they often come up with fun and interesting ideas that our vets, set in their ways as they are, didn't even think of. But, it's created a bit of a problem for us.
It's rather difficult crafting adventures with how that other than our few vets, different peoples' interests vary wildly as they come to our table, and we often don't know who's coming in advance. In addition, it takes an hour out of our game time to make new characters for the newcomers, and its difficult to explain what already happened in the campaign to new people.
The other DM and I have bounced around a few ideas (creating modular, mostly self-contained adventures with a myth arc, using pregens, perhaps converting a system that's a bit more simple than PF), but what's your take?
The type of game you describe is not really one that works best as a custom campaign with a detailed overarching plot, like you see us do in our Adventure Paths. What it REALLY sounds like you're running is something that is pretty much identical to Pathfinder Society; if you AREN'T actually running the Pathfinder Society organized play game, you should absolutely consider making that change, since it was built specifically for your exact situation—games run in public venues with a constantly rotating cast of players and a relatively thin overall metaplot that focuses on self-contained one-shot adventures.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
1. Speaking of movies, did you hear that the Adam Wingard ("Your Next, etc.) movie "The Woods" was announced at comic con with a new name, "The Blair Witch"?
2. Does this make you more excited or less? I love that director and was excited, but admittedly the idea of an original movie from him is somewhat more appealing than a sequel to a franchise that hasn't had a new entry in quite awhile.
3. Do you have a current favorite "active" director of movies (horror or otherwise), a director that automatically makes you pay attention to their next project?
1) Oh my yes. I was already a fan of Adam Wingard, since the home-invasion sub-genre of horror is one of my LEAST favorite sub-genres of horror, but what he did in "You're Next" blew me away. And Blair Witch Project is one of my favorite movies. And I was already eager to see "The Woods" before I knew the truth. SO... yeah. VERY excited.
2) It makes me more excited. I went from interested to "I might have to see this movie on the VERY first showing, be it the midnight before release or perhaps take the day off to watch it" level of excitement. The advance word I've seen on the movie is VERY encouraging as well.
3) Yup, I've got a few who fall into that category. My "top three" directors of all time are John Carpenter, Akira Kurosawa, Werner Herzog, and Martin Scorsese. Others bounce in and out of the top five, filling that fifth slot—Guillarmo del Toro and Quentin Tarrintino and Ridley Scott and Stephen Spielberg usually fight for that role.
That said. If there's one director who makes me sit up and instantly pay attention to their next project, that'd be Ti West.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
O Great and Wise T-Rex,
This ties into me having the herald grant the PCs a vision for a quest to help close the Worldwound.
Does it make you smile getting a decent amount of questions lately regarding Wrath?
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When an android undergoes "renewal" is it essentially like reincarnation the way samsarans do it, the same soul reincarnating over and over? Or is it like a new soul occupies the android's body and the old soul passes to Pharasma's judgment?
Follow up: by reading AZ's question I'm going to assume that androids have souls.
Q: With the creeping up of 'immortal' PC races like androids and samsarans, what do good old liches and vampires think of this? i.e. why don't they just transfer their souls into an android/robot body upon death, instead of having to resort to evil necromancy, alignment change, etc. I'm talking about the willing vampires and liches here, not the humanoids that have ended up as undead due to accident or affliction... thanks!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
For what it's worth, I also prefer the Urdefhan from Into the Darklands, which is hands down, my favorite book about that particular kind of environment, of any edition of the game.
What's your favorite part of Into the Darklands that Greg added. :-)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My players are going to be making a long trek from Magnimar to Numeria in the coming weeks, and I was trying to figure out what sort of course they would likely take in doing so. Going from Magnimar to Korvosa via ship seems obvious, but from there I'm trying to figure out where they would pass through the mountains. The Bloodsworn Vale looks promising as a means of traversing the mountain range, however I'm having a heck of a time finding more information about it. Could you explain roughly what that area is like or point me towards some books that may have more information on it?
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
O Great and Wise T-Rex,
Spoiler:At the end of book 5, there exists an option for a PC to become the Herald of Iomedae. Is that something that the current herald can pass on? Or does this only come from Iomedae?
This ties into me having the herald grant the PCs a vision for a quest to help close the Worldwound.Does it make you smile getting a decent amount of questions lately regarding Wrath?
Considering the volume of questions on this thread, I actually hadn't noticed any upsurge in questions about Wrath... but I do appreciate that the relentless crusade a few people in particular waged against the campaign seems to have largely wound up.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When an android undergoes "renewal" is it essentially like reincarnation the way samsarans do it, the same soul reincarnating over and over? Or is it like a new soul occupies the android's body and the old soul passes to Pharasma's judgment?
It's a new soul.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
When an android undergoes "renewal" is it essentially like reincarnation the way samsarans do it, the same soul reincarnating over and over? Or is it like a new soul occupies the android's body and the old soul passes to Pharasma's judgment?Follow up: by reading AZ's question I'm going to assume that androids have souls.
Q: With the creeping up of 'immortal' PC races like androids and samsarans, what do good old liches and vampires think of this? i.e. why don't they just transfer their souls into an android/robot body upon death, instead of having to resort to evil necromancy, alignment change, etc. I'm talking about the willing vampires and liches here, not the humanoids that have ended up as undead due to accident or affliction... thanks!
Androids absolutely have souls, and in fact that's a significant part of their lore and part of a plot point in Iron Gods. It's what makes them not robots.
And neither androids nor samsarans are immortal. If they die, you make a new character in the same way you do if a human character dies. It doesn't really impact lich or vampire opinions at all, since it's a non-issue.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
What's your favorite part of Into the Darklands that Greg added. :-)
Hmmm... a LOT of options to choose from there, and it's been about a decade since we worked on it so I'm not 100% sure what parts were his or mine now. I believe he did the majority of the work on Nar-Voth though, and of those regions, I think I like the Court of Ether the best, since it's new and not a thematic inheritance from D&D.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
My players are going to be making a long trek from Magnimar to Numeria in the coming weeks, and I was trying to figure out what sort of course they would likely take in doing so. Going from Magnimar to Korvosa via ship seems obvious, but from there I'm trying to figure out where they would pass through the mountains. The Bloodsworn Vale looks promising as a means of traversing the mountain range, however I'm having a heck of a time finding more information about it. Could you explain roughly what that area is like or point me towards some books that may have more information on it?
There's basically two "safe" trade routes one could follow (both of which avoid danger zones like Irrisen and Belkzen).
1) Magnimar to Korvosa to Bloodsworn Vale, through Nirmathas and Ustalav to Numeria. (Bloodsworn Vale is the ONLY pass from Varisia to the Encarthan region through those mountains, other than serious mountain climbing or serious Darklanding.)
2) Magnimar to Corentyn to Cassomir, then up the Sellen to Numeria.
Option 1 is the better choice if you want to make the journey a string of mini adventures along the way. Option 2 is the better choice if you want to hand-wave the journey and have the PCs arrive in Numeria without much adventure.
If you want more information about Bloodsworn Vale, it's detailed pretty exhaustively in the second adventure we published for Golarion, Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale.
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
When an android undergoes "renewal" is it essentially like reincarnation the way samsarans do it, the same soul reincarnating over and over? Or is it like a new soul occupies the android's body and the old soul passes to Pharasma's judgment?It's a new soul.
So, bearing that in mind, would the idea of an android medium who connects with and draws power from his/her body's previous souls be a viable character concept, kind of like...
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
When an android undergoes "renewal" is it essentially like reincarnation the way samsarans do it, the same soul reincarnating over and over? Or is it like a new soul occupies the android's body and the old soul passes to Pharasma's judgment?It's a new soul.So, bearing that in mind, would the idea of an android medium who connects with and draws power from his/her body's previous souls be a viable character concept, kind of like...** spoiler omitted **
Or do android souls not work the way they work for human mediums?
Android souls work exactly the way any other soul works, so that should work fine.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How would a not-evil caster achieve immortality?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Is immortality overrated? Underrated?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How would a not-evil caster achieve immortality?
There are several potentials scattered throughout the rules and the setting, including the Sun Orchid Elixir, magical discoveries for high-level wizards at 20th level, and the use of wishes. The quest for immortality is a great one to fuel entire campaigns, with something like the legendary fountain of youth being something that serves as the goal of an entire adventure path.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Is immortality overrated? Underrated?
I think it's absolutely overrated, and I think the human mind is simply not built for it. In time, any mind will collapse on itself from boredom or ennui or the like, if only because it's human nature to attach more significance to suffering and loss than it is to focus on delight and perfection. Any entity that could whether immortality without self-destruction would be by definition inhuman and thus unknowable to a human.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
How would a not-evil caster achieve immortality?There are several potentials scattered throughout the rules and the setting, including the Sun Orchid Elixir, magical discoveries for high-level wizards at 20th level, and the use of wishes. The quest for immortality is a great one to fuel entire campaigns, with something like the legendary fountain of youth being something that serves as the goal of an entire adventure path.
In Golarion at least, Does success in acheiving immortality put you on an Inevitable's list, as described in the novel "Death's Heretic?"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Have you read Time Enough for Love?