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Very, very, very familiar with it. In that I play the game pretty regularly. Adam (the designer) is friends with Wes Schneider. The game is incredible, in any event; very moody and elegant and fun and exciting. You should ABSOLUTELY back it.Hey James, are you familiar with the Kingdom Death: Monster boardgame? I saw its getting an updated reprint on Kickstarter and I've been thinking about backing it.
If you are familiar with it, is it worth the hefty price tag?
Oh, I missed this.
Have you made it to the final lantern year yet?
What's been your favourite monster to fight?
Any other fond moments?
Who Wrote the Garuda for the Bestiary, and do they have an Ask Page? I'm Dying To Know what they Mean in Racial Hatred by Nagas and Other Serpentine Aberrations... key word Other?
I mean I know Syrictas and Goblin Snakes are, But I don't know what else to consider Snake-Like.
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Who Wrote the Garuda for the Bestiary, and do they have an Ask Page?
The garuda originally appeared in the Pathfinder Module Cult of the Ebon Destroyers. You might check there for more information - at the very least, that will help you figure out who wrote its stats.
EDIT: Thought this was Mr. Seifter's thread! Oops.
Mr. Jacobs: Let's say there were a character born and raised in the cult of Lamashtu - part human and part beast, thanks to magic - but who escaped and turned to the worship of a good deity. All other things being equal (alignment, class, geography, etc.), which good deity makes the most sense for her to turn to?
Thank you! ^_^
Hi James,
What's the weather like over there.
Creative Director
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I know you've listed it as one of your favourite movies, so I thought you might be interested to know that there's going to be showings of Princess Mononoke the 5th (Subbed) and 9th (dubbed) of January for the 20th anniversary.
Oooh!
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Creative Director
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Very, very, very familiar with it. In that I play the game pretty regularly. Adam (the designer) is friends with Wes Schneider. The game is incredible, in any event; very moody and elegant and fun and exciting. You should ABSOLUTELY back it.Hey James, are you familiar with the Kingdom Death: Monster boardgame? I saw its getting an updated reprint on Kickstarter and I've been thinking about backing it.
If you are familiar with it, is it worth the hefty price tag?
Oh, I missed this.
Have you made it to the final lantern year yet?
What's been your favourite monster to fight?
Any other fond moments?
Not even close.
Of the three I've fought (the white lion, the screaming antelope, and the butcher) the white lion is the most fun so far.
Lots! It's a fun game!
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Creative Director
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Who Wrote the Garuda for the Bestiary, and do they have an Ask Page? I'm Dying To Know what they Mean in Racial Hatred by Nagas and Other Serpentine Aberrations... key word Other?
I mean I know Syrictas and Goblin Snakes are, But I don't know what else to consider Snake-Like.
It was originally created in an older module, Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, and so has gone through multiple iterations of development.
What it means by "other" is that the GM gets to decide whether a snake-shaped aberration fits into the category or not. A player does not get to decide that. Whether something is "serpentine" should be decided by the GM based on what he/she considers to be serpentine, but it's a pretty easy call to make.
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs: Let's say there were a character born and raised in the cult of Lamashtu - part human and part beast, thanks to magic - but who escaped and turned to the worship of a good deity. All other things being equal (alignment, class, geography, etc.), which good deity makes the most sense for her to turn to?
Thank you! ^_^
Sarenrae. Seeing as she's the goddess of redemption.
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Very, very, very familiar with it. In that I play the game pretty regularly. Adam (the designer) is friends with Wes Schneider. The game is incredible, in any event; very moody and elegant and fun and exciting. You should ABSOLUTELY back it.Hey James, are you familiar with the Kingdom Death: Monster boardgame? I saw its getting an updated reprint on Kickstarter and I've been thinking about backing it.
If you are familiar with it, is it worth the hefty price tag?
Oh, I missed this.
Have you made it to the final lantern year yet?
What's been your favourite monster to fight?
Any other fond moments?
Not even close.
Of the three I've fought (the white lion, the screaming antelope, and the butcher) the white lion is the most fun so far.
Lots! It's a fun game!
Yay!
My group's only fought the White Lion and had fun with it :3
1. Is one of the goals of the Cult of the Dawnflower to end slavery in whatever country they decide to invade?
2. What deity, if any, did Cayden Caliean worship before he ascended?
3. Are all the thousand Gods of Vuldra actually Gods or are they a mix of demigods and powerful monsters that people worship?
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Creative Director
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1. Is one of the goals of the Cult of the Dawnflower to end slavery in whatever country they decide to invade?
2. What deity, if any, did Cayden Caliean worship before he ascended?
3. Are all the thousand Gods of Vuldra actually Gods or are they a mix of demigods and powerful monsters that people worship?
1) They seek to stop slavery, I believe, but aren't about "invading" countries.
2) Unrevealed. I suspect he might not have worshiped anyone in particular though.
3) It's a mix.
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Good day James.
I've always relegated the details of character language education to their background story. However, if one was to guess, where would be the best places for a scholar to learn the following languages: (i.e. a foreigner wishing to learn the actual language and be fluent, preferably in a learning center of some kind i.e. please exclude the 'immersion with locals' method).
Thassilonian
Azlanti
Abyssal
Infernal
Celestial
Draconic
Halfling
Elven
Gnomish
Dwarven
Aklo
Sylvan
Undercommon
Shoanti
Varisian
Skald
Ulfen
Feel free to expand if other languages come to mind which you'd like to add details on.
Thank you!
PDK
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Creative Director
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Good day James.
I've always relegated the details of character language education to their background story. However, if one was to guess, where would be the best places for a scholar to learn the following languages: (i.e. a foreigner wishing to learn the actual language and be fluent, preferably in a learning center of some kind i.e. please exclude the 'immersion with locals' method).
Thassilonian
Azlanti
Abyssal
Infernal
Celestial
Draconic
Halfling
Elven
Gnomish
Dwarven
Aklo
Sylvan
Undercommon
Shoanti
Varisian
Skald
UlfenFeel free to expand if other languages come to mind which you'd like to add details on.
Thank you!
PDK
Anywhere, frankly. The game doesn't really limit you to having to be in a specific region to learn a language.
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Anywhere, frankly. The game doesn't really limit you to having to be in a specific region to learn a language.
Thank you James! that's good to know! (PS: does this also apply to Thassilonian and Azlanti? ever since I started reading Golarion lore I was under the impression that these two languages are semi-exclusive/rare...)
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Creative Director
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Anywhere, frankly. The game doesn't really limit you to having to be in a specific region to learn a language.Thank you James! that's good to know! (PS: does this also apply to Thassilonian and Azlanti? ever since I started reading Golarion lore I was under the impression that these two languages are semi-exclusive/rare...)
It applies to all languages, but some are rarer than others, and the GM always has the option to restrict access to them to his players as the story requires.
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So I ended up promising to start running Iron Gods alongside RotR so uh started to prep that, so I'm probably going to ask questions related to that in future as well.
First one being, I find Hellion's plan amusing, but can it even succeed? I somehow get a feeling that even if players would fail stopping Meyanda that its plan would fail miserably.
Speaking of Meyanda, if she ends up being captured by party, will Hellion know she is alive?(I mean, since she gets her magic from it) And if that is possible, can Hellion tell difference between her dying or converting away from faith?
(Yeah I'm not exactly sure how divine magic works)
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It applies to all languages, but some are rarer than others, and the GM always has the option to restrict access to them to his players as the story requires.
Follow up: what are some of the main centers of learning in Golarion?
I think you mentioned Lepistad University upthread: would the Taldor bard schools make that list? I can't really think of anything else at the top of my head...
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Creative Director
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So I ended up promising to start running Iron Gods alongside RotR so uh started to prep that, so I'm probably going to ask questions related to that in future as well.
First one being, I find Hellion's plan amusing, but can it even succeed? I somehow get a feeling that even if players would fail stopping Meyanda that its plan would fail miserably.
Speaking of Meyanda, if she ends up being captured by party, will Hellion know she is alive?(I mean, since she gets her magic from it) And if that is possible, can Hellion tell difference between her dying or converting away from faith?
(Yeah I'm not exactly sure how divine magic works)
Not all bad guys have equally competent plans with equal chances of success. Hellion's plan is unlikely to succeed, but it's very likely to spread a lot of pain and misery along the way. If it was more likely to succeed, he wouldn't be the bad guy of the first third of the campaign, after all, but the one for the entire campaign.
Hellion doesn't have any "tracker" type thing on her. If the PCs catch her, he won't know until his agents or he himself hears word.
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Creative Director
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It applies to all languages, but some are rarer than others, and the GM always has the option to restrict access to them to his players as the story requires.Follow up: what are some of the main centers of learning in Golarion?
I think you mentioned Lepistad University upthread: would the Taldor bard schools make that list? I can't really think of anything else at the top of my head...
Check out Inner Sea Magic, Inner Sea Combat, and Inner Sea Intrigue for several examples of institutes like that, but there's generally one or two college type things in most large cities.
So far, Iron Gods is in my top 5. Love it!
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Not all bad guys have equally competent plans with equal chances of success. Hellion's plan is unlikely to succeed, but it's very likely to spread a lot of pain and misery along the way. If it was more likely to succeed, he wouldn't be the bad guy of the first third of the campaign, after all, but the one for the entire campaign.So I ended up promising to start running Iron Gods alongside RotR so uh started to prep that, so I'm probably going to ask questions related to that in future as well.
First one being, I find Hellion's plan amusing, but can it even succeed? I somehow get a feeling that even if players would fail stopping Meyanda that its plan would fail miserably.
Speaking of Meyanda, if she ends up being captured by party, will Hellion know she is alive?(I mean, since she gets her magic from it) And if that is possible, can Hellion tell difference between her dying or converting away from faith?
(Yeah I'm not exactly sure how divine magic works)
Yeah, I know that, I'm still bad with formulating questions right x-x; I meant to ask, is it even possible to drill into Silver Mount if he got that drill working? :D
Oh, btw, got a RotR question too. Does Jorgenfist Library have different golem manuals or other magic item books? I was wondering since its mentioned Mokmurian founded book there to create stone golem with, but I don't see it mentioned in any loot. (if they are used up when creating golems, sorry for my confusion, I'm not best with remembering how crafting rules work :'D)
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So far, Iron Gods is in my top 5. Love it!
Spoiler:James, what do you suggest if players want to try to get these small ships flying again? Is it something that is possible? The ones we've run into so far seem really damaged, but apparently once you get the labs on the main ship running, you can manufacture replacement parts and such. My groups' plan so far has been to get repair bots up and running, and possibly make more of them, and let them figure it out...What do you think?
At this point...
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Creative Director
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Yeah, I know that, I'm still bad with formulating questions right x-x; I meant to ask, is it even possible to drill into Silver Mount if he got that drill working? :DOh, btw, got a RotR question too. Does Jorgenfist Library have different golem manuals or other magic item books? I was wondering since its mentioned Mokmurian founded book there to create stone golem with, but I don't see it mentioned in any loot. (if they are used up when creating golems, sorry for my confusion, I'm not best with remembering how crafting rules work :'D)
Yes, it's possible.
Once you use a golem book, it goes away in a puff of flames; they're one-use items. Feel free to include more there if you want, but that'd impact the party's wealth
So far, Iron Gods is in my top 5. Love it!
** spoiler omitted **At this point...
** spoiler omitted **
I appreciate it. I assume the answer would be the same for...
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So I ended up promising to start running Iron Gods alongside RotR so uh started to prep that, so I'm probably going to ask questions related to that in future as well.
First one being, I find Hellion's plan amusing, but can it even succeed? I somehow get a feeling that even if players would fail stopping Meyanda that its plan would fail miserably.
Speaking of Meyanda, if she ends up being captured by party, will Hellion know she is alive?(I mean, since she gets her magic from it) And if that is possible, can Hellion tell difference between her dying or converting away from faith?
(Yeah I'm not exactly sure how divine magic works)
Not all bad guys have equally competent plans with equal chances of success. Hellion's plan is unlikely to succeed, but it's very likely to spread a lot of pain and misery along the way. If it was more likely to succeed, he wouldn't be the bad guy of the first third of the campaign, after all, but the one for the entire campaign.
Hellion doesn't have any "tracker" type thing on her. If the PCs catch her, he won't know until his agents or he himself hears word.
Would a full deity have a "tracker" thing? How much does a god know about its followers?
So James,
In making a pc that is an awakened animal (it fits the game I'm joining and was awakened as a cub), what would be your advice on handling the racial part of the build? Especially as I need to make it to be approximately ecl 4 (though I understand pathfinder doesn't officially use that, it is still useful in some cases). Possibly through some added templates.
It isn't hard to break it it down into what comes from the animal hd and thus just have the pure racial stats that can be used as would any other no-hd race, then add class levels. Or should the animal hd be kept anyway, despite being more similar to npc class levels?
Also, the awaken spell grants 2 additional hit dice, but doesn't specify what kind of hd (racial, class, as original animal or as magical beast, etc) nor does it specify what the added hd represent.
So what you consider the extra hd represent and what kind of hd would you think best fits with that representation?
Somewhat aside from that, why isn't there a template for being awakened?
What is the role the awaken spell plays in Golarion? Why do druids use it, what do they use it for, and how often?
Silly question, do you think awakened creatures would ever be allowed in pfs (it is pure core after all)?
*I lettered all the questions for easy reference.
Hi James,
An NPC lvl11 Wizard "Heidros" has Flesh to Stone prepared, (DC22 = 10+6+6)
My group wizard enervate him 3 times to -10 negative levels.
Is Heidros still be able to cast Flesh to Stone?
(If positive) Is His DC still 22?
Please give us some light, in my group there is quite a big discussion with this point.
Thank you very much!
Keep the good work :)
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Creative Director
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So James,
In making a pc that is an awakened animal (it fits the game I'm joining and was awakened as a cub), what would be your advice on handling the racial part of the build? Especially as I need to make it to be approximately ecl 4 (though I understand pathfinder doesn't officially use that, it is still useful in some cases). Possibly through some added templates.It isn't hard to break it it down into what comes from the animal hd and thus just have the pure racial stats that can be used as would any other no-hd race, then add class levels. Or should the animal hd be kept anyway, despite being more similar to npc class levels?
Also, the awaken spell grants 2 additional hit dice, but doesn't specify what kind of hd (racial, class, as original animal or as magical beast, etc) nor does it specify what the added hd represent.
So what you consider the extra hd represent and what kind of hd would you think best fits with that representation?
Somewhat aside from that, why isn't there a template for being awakened?
What is the role the awaken spell plays in Golarion? Why do druids use it, what do they use it for, and how often?
Silly question, do you think awakened creatures would ever be allowed in pfs (it is pure core after all)?
*I lettered all the questions for easy reference.
A) We don't use ECL in Pathfinder. It's a flawed system that doesn't hold up well in long-term play. And I've not thought about things in terms of ECL for over a decade. Things like templates work better for GM-controlled characters as well. Your best bet for an unusual race like an awakened animal is to start from scratch with the race-builder guide, a GM who's open to experimentation, and to focus on creating the character you want via the race rules and NOT trying to exactly copy how one would build a similar NPC as an awakened animal. That includes not gaining the 2 bonus Hit Dice and boosts to ability scores.
B) Nope. The effects of awaken are best kept in the role of GM-controlled NPCs.
C) The extra HD represents the animal's body, mind, and soul being elevated from instinctual unintelligent animal to sapient creature.
D) Because there wasn't one in D&D, and we didn't want to abandon backwards compatibility at the time.
E) It's generally used to create guardians for sacred sites. Not armies, and definitely not PCs.
G) Absolutely not, for balance reasons and theme reasons.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
An NPC lvl11 Wizard "Heidros" has Flesh to Stone prepared, (DC22 = 10+6+6)
My group wizard enervate him 3 times to -10 negative levels.
Is Heidros still be able to cast Flesh to Stone?
(If positive) Is His DC still 22?Please give us some light, in my group there is quite a big discussion with this point.
Thank you very much!
Keep the good work :)
Rules questions, ESPECIALLY ones that have groups arguing/discussing, should be either:
a) Answered by/ruled on by the GM, or...
b) Posted to the rules forum so they can be FAQed.
I don't have fun enduring the backlash of answering things like this in house or online, so I don't answer them.
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Creative Director
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Would I be correct in assuming the most common way someone from Ustalav learns arcane magic is to be tutored by an individual mentor, rather than large Hogwarts-style establishments like Korvosa's Acadamae or Absalom's Arcanamirium?
That's the most common way someone ANYWHERE on Golarion learns magic. Hogwart's-style schools are very very rare on Golarion, in most part because that genre of fantasy is too light-hearted and/or high magic generally for the stories we prefer setting on Golarion. It CAN have them, as evidenced by the fact that we do have one or two schools like that, but they're exceptions, not the rule.
How do you feel about aging (of player characters) in Pathfinder games? It seems to me most people just ignore it, but is a 20th level human not going to be middle-aged, at least? Well, maybe not. What's the time span of an adventure path, anyway? Months? Years? Yeah, depends on the path, I suppose, but can you give a ballpark estimate?
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Creative Director
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How do you feel about aging (of player characters) in Pathfinder games? It seems to me most people just ignore it, but is a 20th level human not going to be middle-aged, at least? Well, maybe not. What's the time span of an adventure path, anyway? Months? Years? Yeah, depends on the path, I suppose, but can you give a ballpark estimate?
I like that aging is part of the game, because the game should be able to give players the option to play a wide range of diverse characters and the GM needs those rules even more. As for aging in-game, it doesn't come up much because most of the time, campaigns don't play out over long periods of time like that. I suspect the PRIMARY reason is that it feels more natural to keep the passage of time in game sort of the same as in the real world. If you play a game for a year or two, it's not uncommon for about the same amount of time to pass in-game, in other words. You have to deliberately go against that natural link between game world and real world in order to have significant aging elements play in, or otherwise play the same campaign for many many years.
The time span of an adventure path is generally left open, so that multiple play styles can play it. They might last 6 months, or they might last for 6 years or 60 years. It's left up to the individual GM and table taste.
Have you seen Wayward Pines.
What do you think of it, if you have.
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Creative Director
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How would you feel about an Adventure Path spanning decades? (i.e. 10 years elapse between each AP book, with a long-term profession/downtime rules; a story about occasional heroes, perhaps assembling once in a while to act as guardians of a sacred site or to put down a recurring threat?)
Hesitant, because it forces a style of play onto the table that I'm not sure is all that popular. Especially since so many folks get so caught up in the storyline of an Adventure Path that they get ravenous for plot development and often end up hating portions of the campaign that they interpret as "filler."
I'd rather build an AP that allows for such timespans and encourages it, but can play out fine without using that element. Like we did with Kingmaker.
T-Rex of Creativity (which, incidentally, is the name of my next band)
How would you prefer we address you when writing these questions?
My main question is this: With something you create, what do you like hearing more? That someone ran what you created as written or that they used it to create something else?
My example is this - I am currently running Wrath of the Righteous. We just finished book 5. I ended up changing most everything in book 6 story wise. Got rid of encounters. Changed where some encounters happened. Added in elements from the Worldwound book. I went very big screen cinematic with the story.
Points A & B are still the same. But the journey in between has changed dramatically.
Love the story and epic feel of Wrath. Very intense.
High or Low Chaos?
If you prefer low Chaos, do you still kill your targets, or do you spare them?
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I'd rather build an AP that allows for such timespans and encourages it, but can play out fine without using that element. Like we did with Kingmaker.
That would be awesome. Do you think this could be done in a manner that rewards skill choices such as Craft and Profession? (without grossly exaggerating wealth as the reward, I mean, but in a way that is still significant? perhaps even in terms of the story itself?)
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Creative Director
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High or Low Chaos?
If you prefer low Chaos, do you still kill your targets, or do you spare them?
I tried to go low, but ended up going high because I wanted to explore everything and those chuckleheads kept getting in my way. Prefer to leave civilians alive, but those guards and witches and all them? Dead.