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Have you seen the Kickstarter for Harlem Unbound? Cthulhu Mythos set in the Harlem Renaissance.I hadn't. Looks interesting, but I'm not kickstarting stuff at the moment... not a great time for me to be throwing around money...
Oh, my apologies.
Are there any half giants on golarion?
I hadn't. Looks interesting, but I'm not kickstarting stuff at the moment... not a great time for me to be throwing around money...
As an industry professional what are your thoughts regarding the positive or negative effects that Kickstarter has on the RPG Publishing landscape?
Kind of a broad question, but would a vigilante be a good fit for the base Kingmaker AP? I've gotten mixed signals over whether it is primarily an exploration/settlement builder AP or an intrigue-filled one and would like to know your assessment?
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So uh, my party is planning to use True Resurrection from Black Monk's scroll case to resurrect Vandarrec, the Conna's husband.(he is under 10 years limit indeed..) While that is nice and all, umm, do you have tips on how to roleplay background story characters whose personality isn't mentioned almost at all besides their name? :'D
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Hi James,
In regards to Golarion lore, do you think we will ever find out more about Norgorber? In particular, will we ever get more hints or info into his background and his Test of the Starstone?
I understand secrets is his whole thing and that he has several aspects, but I was just wondering if you think that will be something delved into eventually, or if it would be treated as more of an overarching plot hook to be interpreted by a GM sort of like how Paizo treats Aroden's death.
Thanks James and happy holidays!
Just wondering about the great gap in Campaign setting from Feb to June. Also, what's happening with the Modules line? It never seems to get any love.
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Kind of a broad question, but would a vigilante be a good fit for the base Kingmaker AP? I've gotten mixed signals over whether it is primarily an exploration/settlement builder AP or an intrigue-filled one and would like to know your assessment?
Kingmaker is the most sandboxy AP we've ever published, and as s result, whether it's exploration, dungeon crawling, settlement building, or intrigued filled depends more than any other AP on your table and your GM. It can absolutely do all of those game play styles.
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So uh, my party is planning to use True Resurrection from Black Monk's scroll case to resurrect Vandarrec, the Conna's husband.(he is under 10 years limit indeed..) While that is nice and all, umm, do you have tips on how to roleplay background story characters whose personality isn't mentioned almost at all besides their name? :'D
I do not. When the players do these things, the GM needs to be able to roll with it. Since you know before hand what's happening, I'd take the time to come up with something cool customized to your game and to your players... or otherwise, if you don't want the hassle, simply say that Vandarrec has already been judged and cannot be resurrected (this is the same thing that happens when a PC decides not to be resurrected). If you do this, then obviously the spell doesn't work and the resources the PCs used to try to cast the spell should not be expended. Or alternately, have Conna or someone do some sort of divination before hand to determine if he CAN be resurrected, so the PCs know beforehand before wasting the resources if you want that to happen if they go ahead anyway.
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Hi James,
In regards to Golarion lore, do you think we will ever find out more about Norgorber? In particular, will we ever get more hints or info into his background and his Test of the Starstone?
I understand secrets is his whole thing and that he has several aspects, but I was just wondering if you think that will be something delved into eventually, or if it would be treated as more of an overarching plot hook to be interpreted by a GM sort of like how Paizo treats Aroden's death.
Thanks James and happy holidays!
Absolutely. In fact, we just did in Hell's Rebels, revealing a bit more about him and his cult, particularly in part 3 of the AP.
Of the three Starstone deities, only Norgorber is a deity from my homebrew. He obviously wasn't a Starstone deity in my setting, but he does have decades of lore and history and secrets in my head, and I've always been fond of him, so I'm certainly going to be revealing more about him as time goes on. It's absolutely NOT in the same category as Aroden's death. Very little, if anything, is in that category.
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Just wondering about the great gap in Campaign setting from Feb to June. Also, what's happening with the Modules line? It never seems to get any love.
Often when we do a hardcover with campaign line elements we'll not do a shorter 64 page book for two or three months, because that way we can use the resources to build the larger book. Furthermore, with many other resources increasingly focusing on Starfinder, we've had to scavange a bit there as well.
Adventurer's Guide is the hardcover that's doing this to the line this year. Even though it's releasing in the RPG hardcover line, it's using a lot of world material in it. And there's more unannounced stuff on the way for 2017 still...
As for the modules line, same story. Adventures are my favorite part of any RPG (actually, they're tied with monster books I think), and it's frustrating to me to have a huge pile of ideas to revitalize and expand the modules line but not have the time or resources to do it. So for now, the modules are on pause. I hope that won't last much longer, but it is what it is for now.
Neither line has been cancelled, in any event.
One thing customers can do to help is let us know that you love modules... by telling us, by giving them good reviews, by buying them, by asking your game stores to carry them, and by talking about them on the boards in ways that make it obvious you enjoy them and want more. Modules tend to get less attention in all of these categories when compared to things like player companions or rule books, and as a result, we tend to focus on the books that we know people want and will buy and are excited about, I guess. Which frustrates me a LOT since I'd rather be building or buying or reading adventures.
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Hey James,
Thanks for your past responses and taking the time to answer these for us. I have a few more questions.
1. Maybe this has been asked before, but why were primeval demons like the Obyriths renamed to be known in Pathfinder as Qlippoth? Was this just due to copyright issues with WotC?
2. What are your thoughts on the Forgotten Realms setting having gone through the Spellplague and Sundering in the last few years? Do you think the setting still has some juice or do you think the constant character deaths and revivals have taken its toll?
Thanks!
Hey James, when you're helping another design or editing another's work, how do you go about giving suggestions whilst still leaving room for the author to have their voice and not your design?
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I love APs, and I also love modules, but don't you think the two product lines are inherently in competition with one another? IMO a LOT of gamers don't think of money as their scarcest commodity, and for them time is the determining factor for purchasing one vs. the other.
I do not think so at all. I think that the appetite for adventures is vast, and that we're not even CLOSE to over-saturating the market with them. Furthermore, a 64 page adventure can tackle different stories that won't work well extended out to a full campaign, or can tackle higher level content that the adventure paths can't get to, or can tackle weird or obscure regions or plots in an experimental way, and so on.
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Hey James,
Thanks for your past responses and taking the time to answer these for us. I have a few more questions.
1. Maybe this has been asked before, but why were primeval demons like the Obyriths renamed to be known in Pathfinder as Qlippoth? Was this just due to copyright issues with WotC?
2. What are your thoughts on the Forgotten Realms setting having gone through the Spellplague and Sundering in the last few years? Do you think the setting still has some juice or do you think the constant character deaths and revivals have taken its toll?
Thanks!
1) Because the word "Obyrith" is a nonsense word I made up out of the blue for Wizards of the Cost as part of my work on the demon book I wrote for them. They own the word "Obyrith" and the creatures that I made up to support that type (as well as any they may have gone on to create since then), and as such, we can't use the word since it's not part of the OGL. That said, qlippoth existed in Green Ronin's Book of Fiends for years before the obyriths, and were in fact a significant inspiration to me for the creation of obyriths. And of course, unlike obyriths, qlippoth is a word from real-world mythology; it's thousands of years old. So in a way, qlippoth is the better word to use for this concept anyway, and if I had been able to use it in the demon book I wrote for WotC I would have used it... I didn't, because WotC wasn't interested in picking up content from 3rd party publishers because that would have meant making other portions of that book open content as well. They experimented with this in Monster Manual II and never really went back.
2) Not a fan. I prefer the Forgotten Realms as it was in the late 80s and through the 90s.
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Hello Mr. Jacobs!
What are your thoughts on a potential film adaptation of the Silmarillion? Also, how do you feel about using Middle-Earth as a campaign setting within the context of the Pathfinder rules?
Thanks! :)
I've never read the Silmarillion. I've tried a few times but it bored me and I couldn't get into it. If they DO make a film, I'll approach with caution, because I don't want to see a boring movie, but I'd rather see a boring movie than a goofy silly one like what the hobbit movies ended up being.
While you can absolutely run a game set in Middle-Earth with Pathfinder, I prefer Golarion.
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Hey James, when you're helping another design or editing another's work, how do you go about giving suggestions whilst still leaving room for the author to have their voice and not your design?
I don't. It doesn't really work that way. Once an author is done and I"m developing or editing it, I try to maintain the author's voice and ideas as best as I can, but in the context of Pathfinder products, the author is hired to help build our world and our brand, and if something in there doesn't sit well with our goals for the brand, I have no qualms about re-writing it entirely if I need to. As a general rule, I do let the authors know about this, and they also know this is the situation going into the project, and I try to send the developed text back to them to check out to make sure they're happy with the results. I've not yet had anyone tell me "No! That's garbage. Take my name off it!" I've had a few authors push back and at that point we talk it out and sometimes they capitulate and accept my change and sometimes I do and fix it back to their original if they can convince me of its value in the setting.
But yeah... When an author writes for a Pathfinder product, they sell all rights to the words to Paizo and they understand that any or all of it is subject to change. It's not really as much a collaborative process in the way you imply.
I have done those types of collaborations though, before. I co-wrote Into the Darklands and The Midnight Isles with Greg Vaughan, for example, and co-wrote Magnimar with Adam Daigle, and so on. In those cases, we work together to figure out the plot and then split up the writing tasks and go from there. But even then, the ultimate result is something that ends up subject to the developer's needs.
In other cases, I've co-written books with other authors for other companies, and in those cases, I work with them as needed to build the plot, and then do my best to write my words to do their job and support theirs as well, knowing in the end that the developer will adjust as needed to make the book make sense as a whole.
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Hello James,
Happy holidays and a quick question. Does a Torch affect a swarm with its 1 fire damage. Or is a swarm immune to the torch completely?
I understand the bludgeoning part but fire isn't the weapon damage iirc.
Thanks and happy holidays! :D
The fire damage from a torch does damage normally to a swarm; a swarm is only immune to that if they're immune to fire.
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Also,
Who are your favorite Super Heroes? :O
Ummmmm...
I guess Batman is my favorite, but overall, I don't really read superhero comics and I don't really do much more than watch the movies. I enjoy them, but I get tired of how samey-they are. At least Marvel is FINALLY starting to get some diversity in there... really bored with "white guy superhero" these days.
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Hey James, when you're helping another design or editing another's work, how do you go about giving suggestions whilst still leaving room for the author to have their voice and not your design?I don't. It doesn't really work that way. Once an author is done and I"m developing or editing it, I try to maintain the author's voice and ideas as best as I can, but in the context of Pathfinder products, the author is hired to help build our world and our brand, and if something in there doesn't sit well with our goals for the brand, I have no qualms about re-writing it entirely if I need to. As a general rule, I do let the authors know about this, and they also know this is the situation going into the project, and I try to send the developed text back to them to check out to make sure they're happy with the results. I've not yet had anyone tell me "No! That's garbage. Take my name off it!" I've had a few authors push back and at that point we talk it out and sometimes they capitulate and accept my change and sometimes I do and fix it back to their original if they can convince me of its value in the setting.
But yeah... When an author writes for a Pathfinder product, they sell all rights to the words to Paizo and they understand that any or all of it is subject to change. It's not really as much a collaborative process in the way you imply.
I have done those types of collaborations though, before. I co-wrote Into the Darklands and The Midnight Isles with Greg Vaughan, for example, and co-wrote Magnimar with Adam Daigle, and so on. In those cases, we work together to figure out the plot and then split up the writing tasks and go from there. But even then, the ultimate result is something that ends up subject to the developer's needs.
In other cases, I've co-written books with other authors for other companies, and in those cases, I work with them as needed to build the plot, and then do my best to write my words to do their job and support theirs as well, knowing in the end...
Thanks James!
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I love APs, and I also love modules, but don't you think the two product lines are inherently in competition with one another? IMO a LOT of gamers don't think of money as their scarcest commodity, and for them time is the determining factor for purchasing one vs. the other.I do not think so at all. I think that the appetite for adventures is vast, and that we're not even CLOSE to over-saturating the market with them. Furthermore, a 64 page adventure can tackle different stories that won't work well extended out to a full campaign, or can tackle higher level content that the adventure paths can't get to, or can tackle weird or obscure regions or plots in an experimental way, and so on.
Do you know of a demiplane where each gaming hour spent there results in only 1 second spent in the real world? If so, can you please let me know how to access it? so much gaming... I need more time (I'll settle on a 1 hour to 1 min ratio)
Are you familiar with the band "The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets" and if so, what is your take on them? (If you're not familiar, they're a rock band known for music laden with Mythos references)
Hi james,
1) In your home games do you allow your players to choose feats and spells that are typically associated with a specific faith or do you prefer to keep those options as exclusive as possible for their sects? For example a non Pharasma necromancer getting access to the defending bone spell.
2)What is the part that you like the most about your job?
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Do you know of a demiplane where each gaming hour spent there results in only 1 second spent in the real world? If so, can you please let me know how to access it? so much gaming... I need more time (I'll settle on a 1 hour to 1 min ratio)I love APs, and I also love modules, but don't you think the two product lines are inherently in competition with one another? IMO a LOT of gamers don't think of money as their scarcest commodity, and for them time is the determining factor for purchasing one vs. the other.I do not think so at all. I think that the appetite for adventures is vast, and that we're not even CLOSE to over-saturating the market with them. Furthermore, a 64 page adventure can tackle different stories that won't work well extended out to a full campaign, or can tackle higher level content that the adventure paths can't get to, or can tackle weird or obscure regions or plots in an experimental way, and so on.
Sorry... can't help you.
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Hi james,
1) In your home games do you allow your players to choose feats and spells that are typically associated with a specific faith or do you prefer to keep those options as exclusive as possible for their sects? For example a non Pharasma necromancer getting access to the defending bone spell.
2)What is the part that you like the most about your job?
1) I prefer it if players justify picking feats like that by doing it right and being of the proper faith or organaization.
2) The people I work with.
Modules tend to get less attention in all of these categories when compared to things like player companions or rule books, and as a result, we tend to focus on the books that we know people want and will buy and are excited about, I guess. Which frustrates me a LOT since I'd rather be building or buying or reading adventures.
Amen, brother.
My absolute favorites still are the Darkmoon Vale series from the very beginning of time. My secret wish is to see them updated and rereleased like the early APs have been.
What I think the Modules line is really good for is satisfying fan love for those areas for which a full AP will never happen. For example: Galt. There are enough pages to make a really atmospheric adventure with locations and monsters that are thematic along with a solid plot. If it sells well, there's always an option for a sequel. Use the Modules line to quench the thirst for Galt and return to Tian Xia. It can even be a tantilizing peek into Arcadia. Even a quarterly release would make me happy. It's just too hard to subscribe to anymore.
How strict would you be with the definition of 'the sea' for the purposes of someone playing a Deep One Hybrid in one of your games? Would only a 'proper' ocean do (possibly due to some ephemeral quality of an ocean, or the salinity), or is it a matter of size and something like Lake Encarthian or the Lake of Mists and Veils be sufficient?
4) Yes, in fact, knowledge of the truth [about death] and then fighting against it is probably a worse sin than not knowing and fighting against it. It's more selfish, for sure, since you're operating with facts rather than guesswork.
But why?
Why is this selfish? At whose expense are you acting? Who is being harmed or negleted, especially if you spend your extra time living as a hero working towards the good of many?
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Do you know of a demiplane where each gaming hour spent there results in only 1 second spent in the real world? If so, can you please let me know how to access it? so much gaming... I need more time (I'll settle on a 1 hour to 1 min ratio)Sorry... can't help you.
Can't or won't? >_<
Joking aside: thank you for all the time spent answering our questions in 2016! greatly, greatly appreciated! best wishes of health and prosperity for 2017 and beyond!
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Forgot I had finished this and thought you might like to see my updated version of Saltmarsh.
Saltmarsh
NG Large Town
Corruption 0; Crime +1; Economy +1; Law -3; Lore 0; Society +4
Qualities
Notorious
Prosperous
Rumourmongering Citizens
Danger 15
Government- Council
Population 3850
Marketplace
Base Value 3200; Purchase Limit 20000; Spellcasting 5th
Minor Items- +1 Leather Armour; +2 Hide Armour; +1 Spear; Potions of Virtue, Protection from Good, Cats Grace; Scrolls of Protection from Evil, Glitterdust; Wands of Comprehend Languages, Heat Metal; Slippers of Spider Climbing.
Medium Items- Lesser Empower Metamagic Rod; Scroll of Disrupting Weapon; Staff of Swarming Insects; Wand of Inflict Moderate Wounds; Helm of Telepathy.
Major Items- +4 Greater Shadow Chainmail; Ring of Protection +4; Scroll of Energy Drain; Wand of Freedom of Movement.
Hope that you like it.
EtG
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How strict would you be with the definition of 'the sea' for the purposes of someone playing a Deep One Hybrid in one of your games? Would only a 'proper' ocean do (possibly due to some ephemeral quality of an ocean, or the salinity), or is it a matter of size and something like Lake Encarthian or the Lake of Mists and Veils be sufficient?
I'd go with oceans. It's not so much the salinity as it is the overwhelming size and "deepness" of the ocean that makes it creepy, and thus makes it more appropriate for deep ones.
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4) Yes, in fact, knowledge of the truth [about death] and then fighting against it is probably a worse sin than not knowing and fighting against it. It's more selfish, for sure, since you're operating with facts rather than guesswork.
But why?
Why is this selfish? At whose expense are you acting? Who is being harmed or negleted, especially if you spend your extra time living as a hero working towards the good of many?
It's selfish because it's keeping reality from moving forward by a tiny but not insignificant amount—your soul.
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Do you know of a demiplane where each gaming hour spent there results in only 1 second spent in the real world? If so, can you please let me know how to access it? so much gaming... I need more time (I'll settle on a 1 hour to 1 min ratio)Sorry... can't help you.Can't or won't? >_<
Joking aside: thank you for all the time spent answering our questions in 2016! greatly, greatly appreciated! best wishes of health and prosperity for 2017 and beyond!
Both.
And thanks!
It's selfish because it's keeping reality from moving forward by a tiny but not insignificant amount—your soul.
4) Yes, in fact, knowledge of the truth [about death] and then fighting against it is probably a worse sin than not knowing and fighting against it. It's more selfish, for sure, since you're operating with facts rather than guesswork.
But why?
Why is this selfish? At whose expense are you acting? Who is being harmed or negleted, especially if you spend your extra time living as a hero working towards the good of many?
That sounds an aweful lot like catching a rain drop and keeping it in a bottle, then complaining about it's effect on the water cycle.
You can catch a whole storm without bothering the world.
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It's selfish because it's keeping reality from moving forward by a tiny but not insignificant amount—your soul.
4) Yes, in fact, knowledge of the truth [about death] and then fighting against it is probably a worse sin than not knowing and fighting against it. It's more selfish, for sure, since you're operating with facts rather than guesswork.
But why?
Why is this selfish? At whose expense are you acting? Who is being harmed or negleted, especially if you spend your extra time living as a hero working towards the good of many?
That sounds an aweful lot like catching a rain drop and keeping it in a bottle, then complaining about it's effect on the water cycle.
You can catch a whole storm without bothering the world.
This is no longer questions, but debate. I'm not interested in debating. Please limit posts to questions.
Sorry.
So what options (narratively) are there to attain immortality? Especially when avoiding the more evil options like lichdom.
Are there souled constructs (like 3.0 or the younger brother in Full Metal Alchemist)?
What about splitting the soul like horcruxes in Harry Potter, or soul containers in Fallout: Equestria (they are different)?
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Sorry.
So what options (narratively) are there to attain immortality? Especially when avoiding the more evil options like lichdom.
Are there souled constructs (like 3.0 or the younger brother in Full Metal Alchemist)?
What about splitting the soul like horcruxes in Harry Potter, or soul containers in Fallout: Equestria (they are different)?
There are all sorts of immortality options. Be they class features or use of the Sun Orchid Elixir or using wishes or bargains with deities and so on... basically, whatever storyline sounds good to the GM works as well.
There are constructs that have souls. That's a plot point from Iron Gods, in fact, but also a plot point in the 2nd Carrion Crown adventure.
I'm not familiar enough with Harry Potter (only saw the movies and forgot most of the details; all I remember about horcruxes is that they were plot devices), and have never heard of Fallout: Equestria. "Soul splitting" is not something the game currently does much with.
What do spell slots actually represent?
I noticed before that spell levels are known in the narrative world (probably similar to how math has linear to exponential to quadratic to geometric.).
But what does this mean for spell slots? Doesn't make sense to just be pure available energy. It seems like some sort of construction, if it even exists in the narrative rather than as a pure metagame element.
But if that is the case, then is there magic without slots? Perhaps more difficult or less reliable (since if slots are the most common, they woukd become so for a reason).
If there is, then is there an advantage to using slotless magic if a caster is willing to accept the greater difficulty/less reliability?
If this hasn't been explored, but it potentially available, is there room for someone to propose a system to fill that place?
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Dear James.
1. What are the chances of a new Pathfinder module appearing in 2017?
2. Did you see "Rogue One - A Star Wars Story" yet?
3. If so, how did you like it?
4. How did you like your character Shensen being made into a miniature?
5. Do you use it?Happy Holidays!
1. 23%
2. Yes.3. Loved it. It's my favorite Star Wars movie.
4. Awesome!
5. Of course!