How would you stat out the Yamata no Orochi? In my setting, he's a CR 30 unique mythic hydra, tied to my god of disaster.
Creative Director
|
How would you stat out the Yamata no Orochi? In my setting, he's a CR 30 unique mythic hydra, tied to my god of disaster.
Looks like an 8 headed hydra to me. As for what CR and role, it'd depend entirely on my preference at the time, but I'd probably not go with it as a CR 30 creature, since that role in my head is best limited to kaiju and demigods.
|
Not really; they don't need to. They have a pretty excellent slave gathering mechanism already, and surface slaves are less useful for life underground, and they're not all that into coming up to the surface in the first place even to get slaves.
That makes sense, thank you for the clarification.
I have, in that Paths of the Righteous was my idea, I outlined it, I assigned it, and I developed the book.
Excellent, that makes my next question easier:
In previous questions on this thread I asked about the appropriateness of a Thassilonian Specialist wizard in Varisia-based APs like Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star. To paraphrase your answer to that question, it wouldn't be a good fit for Rise of the Runelords as the events of that AP are really what kick off the Thassilonmania that leads to the traditions of Thassilonian spellcasting being rediscovered, but they do work well in Shattered Star, since there's been enough time between the two for Thassilonian spellcasting to catch on.
|
Creative Director
|
Not really; they don't need to. They have a pretty excellent slave gathering mechanism already, and surface slaves are less useful for life underground, and they're not all that into coming up to the surface in the first place even to get slaves.That makes sense, thank you for the clarification.
I have, in that Paths of the Righteous was my idea, I outlined it, I assigned it, and I developed the book.Excellent, that makes my next question easier:
In previous questions on this thread I asked about the appropriateness of a Thassilonian Specialist wizard in Varisia-based APs like Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star. To paraphrase your answer to that question, it wouldn't be a good fit for Rise of the Runelords as the events of that AP are really what kick off the Thassilonmania that leads to the traditions of Thassilonian spellcasting being rediscovered, but they do work well in Shattered Star, since there's been enough time between the two for Thassilonian spellcasting to catch on.
** spoiler omitted **
Yes.
|
|
Yes.Not really; they don't need to. They have a pretty excellent slave gathering mechanism already, and surface slaves are less useful for life underground, and they're not all that into coming up to the surface in the first place even to get slaves.That makes sense, thank you for the clarification.
I have, in that Paths of the Righteous was my idea, I outlined it, I assigned it, and I developed the book.Excellent, that makes my next question easier:
In previous questions on this thread I asked about the appropriateness of a Thassilonian Specialist wizard in Varisia-based APs like Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star. To paraphrase your answer to that question, it wouldn't be a good fit for Rise of the Runelords as the events of that AP are really what kick off the Thassilonmania that leads to the traditions of Thassilonian spellcasting being rediscovered, but they do work well in Shattered Star, since there's been enough time between the two for Thassilonian spellcasting to catch on.
** spoiler omitted **
Double excellent! Now I have something to look forward to when the APs revisit Varisia (quickly becoming a favorite corner of Golarion for me).
Excited to see Rogue One?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Excited to see Rogue One?
In that I purchased my ticket already, yes, but that's more a factor of convenience since if I didn't do so early, I wouldn't have been able to get a fancy seat at iPic and would have then had to wait until after my vacation to see it in mid January and by that point all you internet chuckleheads would have spoiled the entire movie for me. :-P
And the fact that the advance word says it's more "adult" and less "for kids" is intriguing. I love love LOVE the fact that they're branching out into a universe like Marvel and doing more than just the core stories and giving an increasingly wide range of folks the opportunity to do stories in the Star Wars universe. Because that means that maybe, some day, we'll see an R-rated Star Wars movie directed by someone like David Cronenberg, David Twohy, John Carpenter, James Wan, Ty West, etc.
Does the idea of a true horror film set in the Star Wars universe appeal to you?
|
Creative Director
|
Does the idea of a true horror film set in the Star Wars universe appeal to you?
Yes. I'm pretty sure that's what my list of dream-team Star Wars movie directors pretty much implied, though. :P
That said, the idea of ANY genre of film set in the Star Wars universe is intriguing to me. Same goes for any shared world.
That said, the idea of ANY genre of film set in the Star Wars universe is intriguing to me. Same goes for any shared world.
Even a romcom? ;)
|
Creative Director
|
That said, the idea of ANY genre of film set in the Star Wars universe is intriguing to me. Same goes for any shared world.Even a romcom? ;)
Now and then I like romcoms.
The top five romcoms that come to mind that I enjoyed would be:
There's Something About Mary
High Fidelity
Much Ado About Nothing
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Chasing Amy
Doctor Strange, Hellboy, or John Constantine?
Hi James,
I have a question on Bestiary 6, which I know your heavily involved with the development of. How similar is the development of this bestiary to past bestiaries? Are you mostly the person in charging of picking the selection? Is your workload on the creature design higher the normal, or does that just pertain to the demigod level critters?
Really looking forward to the book!
Will there be WereDinosaurs in Bestiary 6. As seen originally in The Divinity Drive.
|
Creative Director
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Will there be WereDinosaurs in Bestiary 6. As seen originally in The Divinity Drive.
No. I'm actually of the opinion that we don't NEED new pages for were-creatures, because everything you need to create were-animals is in the template. We don't spend time in bestiaries statting up new liches or vampires—that's something for a book like Monster Codex. Same goes for things like the were-deinonychus, which you'll note was NOT presented as a new monster in Divinity Drive's bestiary. Because it's not necessary.
What we DO include in Bestiary 6 are rules for a similar creature, the entothrope, which is like a lycanthrope but combines humanoids with vermin. It's pretty similar (and comes with three examples) but just as there are some significant differences between animals and vermin, so is the case for entothropes and lycanthropes.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James,
I have a question on Bestiary 6, which I know your heavily involved with the development of. How similar is the development of this bestiary to past bestiaries? Are you mostly the person in charging of picking the selection? Is your workload on the creature design higher the normal, or does that just pertain to the demigod level critters?
Really looking forward to the book!
This is the first Bestiary that's only had one person developing it. While we did have a brainstorm with several folks calling out what monsters would be cool inclusions, I had pretty much final say on what exact creatures ended up in the book, which is also the first time this has happened for a Bestiary.
I helped develop a large chunk of Bestiary 1, 2, and 3 and a much smaller portion of 4. I had no development duties for 5.
Will there be WereDinosaurs in Bestiary 6. As seen originally in The Divinity Drive.No. I'm actually of the opinion that we don't NEED new pages for were-creatures, because everything you need to create were-animals is in the template. We don't spend time in bestiaries statting up new liches or vampires—that's something for a book like Monster Codex. Same goes for things like the were-deinonychus, which you'll note was NOT presented as a new monster in Divinity Drive's bestiary. Because it's not necessary.
What we DO include in Bestiary 6 are rules for a similar creature, the entothrope, which is like a lycanthrope but combines humanoids with vermin. It's pretty similar (and comes with three examples) but just as there are some significant differences between animals and vermin, so is the case for entothropes and lycanthropes.
Even better! Sounds awesome! :-)
Have you read HG Wells? If so favorite book?
I like the Island of Dr. Moreau. A bit disturbing and horrific, but all for the more fun.
Dear James Jacobs,
With the end of 2016 fast approaching and the holidays almost upon us, is there any thing you wished that didn't happen in 2016 that had happened?
What about any regrets for 2016?
Regarding Bestiary 6, any news on the empyreal lords therein?
Also, is "empyreal lords" capitalized? It feels like it should be, but it isn't in the Paizo works I've seen.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Regarding Bestiary 6, any news on the empyreal lords therein?
Also, is "empyreal lords" capitalized? It feels like it should be, but it isn't in the Paizo works I've seen.
It's not capitalized; if it were, we would capitalize it in our books. It's in the same category as archdevil, demon lord, and the like.
In any event, not interested in Bestiary 6 spoilers here at this time. The book's going to the printer in a few weeks, though, so maybe then I'll say something here or there...
James,
It wasn't meant to be political. I merely meant like "A book that didn't come out that you'd hope might" or maybe "A movie that didn't do it for." But okay!
|
Creative Director
|
James,
It wasn't meant to be political. I merely meant like "A book that didn't come out that you'd hope might" or maybe "A movie that didn't do it for." But okay!
Might have wanted to clarify that in the original question then.
As for regrets, not really interested in airing regrets here for personal reasons. Needless to say I have plenty every year.
James,
My apologies for not being more clear in my questions. But I appreciate your candor as always.
>sees entothrope and explanation
Call me excited!
My Orochi IS basically a kaiju; he has a space of 100 feet. Of course, that does mean that the Tarrasque is rendered completely obsolete for my setting, but eh.
Anyway, would you say that half-dragons of furry and feathery creatures would stay fluffy? I... Kinda want to see a semi-cute floofy durgon.
James, would you mind stopping by the Amazon Go store and then tell me about the experience?
|
Creative Director
|
Pardon moi, et bonne journée, monsieur Jacobs, what is your favorite aspect of Pathfinder "crunch" to design? Weapons, monsters, classes etc.
Related: Do you still get those "Ah ha!" epiphany style moments when you're doing design work? That moment where things click oh-so-satisfyingly?
Monsters. No contest.
And yes, I do get ah-ha moments, both when designing rules and when writing adventures/world content.
|
Creative Director
|
James, would you mind stopping by the Amazon Go store and then tell me about the experience?
If I find myself downtown someday with a need to go to the grocery store, I might. Or if I've got friends and family in town I might just to share a weirdo Seattle experience. But until then, I'm perfectly happy shopping at Whole Foods and interacting with cashiers when I need to pay, since that process has been vetted for a LONG TIME to make sure that there's no security risks.
Anyway, would you say that half-dragons of furry and feathery creatures would stay fluffy? I... Kinda want to see a semi-cute floofy durgon.I would not. Fluffy dragons are, in my opinion, goofy and off-model.
That's kind of a shame. There is one really good design for a fluffy dragon that I know of: Flammie, from Secret of Mana.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
That's kind of a shame. There is one really good design for a fluffy dragon that I know of: Flammie, from Secret of Mana.Anyway, would you say that half-dragons of furry and feathery creatures would stay fluffy? I... Kinda want to see a semi-cute floofy durgon.I would not. Fluffy dragons are, in my opinion, goofy and off-model.
Let's keep posts to questions; I'm not interested in turning this into "Debate James Jacobs on opinion-based answers here!" If you ask me my opinion on a question, you'll get my opinion. Feel free to ask me follow up questions based on my answer if you wish.
Hi James!
Thanks for reopening your thread. My question concerns Kyonin. I am working on a long term plot where one of my elven PCs wants to eventually establish a Pathfinder lodge in Greengold. Do you have any suggestions as to the sorts of deeds and/or political maneuvers he would have to make in order to make this a reality?
|
Creative Director
|
Hi James!
Thanks for reopening your thread. My question concerns Kyonin. I am working on a long term plot where one of my elven PCs wants to eventually establish a Pathfinder lodge in Greengold. Do you have any suggestions as to the sorts of deeds and/or political maneuvers he would have to make in order to make this a reality?
Once the PC contacts the leaders of Greengold to get permission to do so, make it contingent on completing a quest for the government of Greengold. You don't have to make the quest an entire adventure, but instead take the next adventure you have planned and have Greengold's leaders contact the PC with their quest—to rescue an ally or retrieve an item or do something else associated with the actual adventure the PCs are going on.
I have indeed red HG Wells. "The Time Machine" is my favorite. It's why Pathfinder has morlocks in the game.Have you read HG Wells? If so favorite book?
I like the Island of Dr. Moreau. A bit disturbing and horrific, but all for the more fun.
Have you read Robert Silverberg's sequel novel to the same?
I've mentioned that I'm making my own setting, and I have a few questions relating to gods.
One: What do I do with the devils? All of my core deities except one are characters from other worlds I've created. The problem: Asmodeus thus doesn't exist.
Two: What do you think of a chaotic evil deity who includes vigilante justice as one of his areas of concern? He works toward lawful and good goals... But it's his methods that make him CE. He is outright brutal, gleefully ignores laws as he enforces them, and believes firmly in paying evil unto evil. He's thus the enemy of basically every other evil god.
|
Creative Director
|
Have you read Robert Silverberg's sequel novel to the same?I have indeed red HG Wells. "The Time Machine" is my favorite. It's why Pathfinder has morlocks in the game.Have you read HG Wells? If so favorite book?
I like the Island of Dr. Moreau. A bit disturbing and horrific, but all for the more fun.
Nope.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I've mentioned that I'm making my own setting, and I have a few questions relating to gods.
One: What do I do with the devils? All of my core deities except one are characters from other worlds I've created. The problem: Asmodeus thus doesn't exist.
Two: What do you think of a chaotic evil deity who includes vigilante justice as one of his areas of concern? He works toward lawful and good goals... But it's his methods that make him CE. He is outright brutal, gleefully ignores laws as he enforces them, and believes firmly in paying evil unto evil. He's thus the enemy of basically every other evil god.
One: Whatever you want. Frankly, I think that using content created by others, be it other game designers or real-world cultures is a great way to save time in world creation. If you want devils in your game, the easiest solution is to use the ones that already exist in Pathfinder. If you specifically do not want Asmodeus in your game, feel free to use all the Asmodeus lore we've created but apply it to some new name. One of the best parts about using existing lore is that your players have a better chance of already being familair with it, and thus they don't have to go through the familiarization process and know instantly what's going on. It's easier to get a group nervous or excited by saying, "The trees are knocked aside as a tyrannosaurus emerges to attack" than it is by saying "The trees are knocked aside as a nivlivokor emerges to attack."
Two: Bad idea. A deity that works toward lawful and good goals is lawful good, and undermining alignments like that erodes the value they create in the game. If you're going to go against alignments like that, better to just ditch alignment entirely from your game.
|
Creative Director
|
How far have you gotten? What do you think of it?Have you played Salt and Sanctuary?Yup.
I don't remember. I bought it, played for a week or two, then stopped playing when Dark Souls III came out. The game was fun and moody but too derivative of dark souls to be memorable or keep my attention.
|
I don't remember. I bought it, played for a week or two, then stopped playing when Dark Souls III came out. The game was fun and moody but too derivative of dark souls to be memorable or keep my attention.How far have you gotten? What do you think of it?Have you played Salt and Sanctuary?Yup.
Ah, Okies.
Tangentially related to Souls, The Bloodborne artbook is up for preorder, thought you might be interested.
Are the alignment domains a must have for deities when designing them? I know you have said that domains are more of an art and adding an odd domain/sub domain can add extra flavor and interest.
Could the omission of a domain do the same?
|
Creative Director
|
Are the alignment domains a must have for deities when designing them? I know you have said that domains are more of an art and adding an odd domain/sub domain can add extra flavor and interest.
Could the omission of a domain do the same?
Yes. Alignment domains are required, and to date we've not deliberately omitted an alignment domain from any deity. And I see no reason to change that. Even in the case of a non-neutral demigod, where half their domains are alignment domains, you can still do a lot of fun flavor choices among the remaining two domain options.
What you do in your game is up to you, of course.
How would you go about making the alignment domains more flavorful?
|
Creative Director
|
How would you go about making the alignment domains more flavorful?
By redesigning them from the ground up, perhaps by making the domains into planar-themed domains instead of alignment themed ones, so that a deity only picks one domain regardless.
Not something I'm gonna do here, though.
Hi James,
1) Have you seen the trailer for the upcoming Mummy movie? If so what do you think?
2) What in general is your feeling about the proposed "Universal Movie Monster" Universe they are trying to put together, starting with The Mummy?
3)I know you at least watched one season of Penny Dreadful. Did you ever finish it? If so what did you think?