Hey James, in my home game, I'm working through an idea that Iomedae had a hand in Aroden's death. Can you spitball me some ideas regarding that concept?
are there any large(around fifty to a few hundred people in size) mercenary companies on Golarion if so were are they mostly located.
I already posted about this in the campaign setting general discussion, but another user named Kryzbyn suggested that I repost it here instead!
I would like to know more about Syrinx civilization in general, but I can't seem to find anything outside of what's already shown on the pathfinder wiki. I already know that they have a decent relationship with the Strix (at least in the past) and other avian creatures, as well as a desire to atone for their previous barbaric behavior. I also know that their current pretentions regarding art and philosophy do little to obscure the fact that they are slavers that desire to "enlighten" everything under the sun that doesn't have a set of wings.
What I would like to know is "Why?" What events in their history drove them away from the concept of barbarism and into enlightenment? Was it the work of a god that turned them from one bird of prey into another? Were they always slavers? How far does this sophistication go? Are there Syrinxes that desire to return to the old ways?
What gods do they worship? I suspect gods of an infernal nature such as Asmodeus and his dukes are followed, especially the former since he possesses "slavery" in his portfolio, but what about gods with a bird motif, such as Shax (who has storks as his sacred animal) and Tanagaar (who has owls)? Perhaps, and this is a hefty reach, someone like the Daemon Harbinger Uaransaph, who has the portfolio of "Non-magical flight, falling and projectiles"?
On their work as slavers and philosophers, how interconnected are the two? The pathfinder wiki article did mention that they had a caste system, although they mentioned that it was in regards for race, with the Syrinx obviously at the top. Is there a difference between the two jobs, such as a separate caste system entirely or are the two jobs bundled up into one big package? Do they have contacts related to their job, IE. other human traffickers or big thinker types? If so, who are they and how do they meet? I am guessing they could be Cheliaxian due to their alignment types and similar views on regal matters. But then again, I wouldn't leave out a possible dalliance with the Drow, especially since underwater tunnels seem safer to traverse than by dangerous voyages to Arcadia from Cheliax. But if we are going by proximity, the fire giants based around the volcanoes of Arcadia seem like the safest bet.
And what about their technology? What are they capable of making and what do they prefer to build? Have they learned anything from previous civilizations such as the Shory and their flying cities? What do they aspire to create?
Bear in mind that I do not have any access to the sources listed in the pathfinder wiki article, so if there are passages from those references, please correct me!
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are there any large(around fifty to a few hundred people in size) mercenary companies on Golarion if so were are they mostly located.
Absolutely, and they can be located anywhere there's either large civilized areas or in regions where conflict is common enough to justify their presence. AKA: pretty much wherever you need them. The Hellknights are probably the ones that are the most famous.
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I already posted about this in the campaign setting general discussion, but another user named Kryzbyn suggested that I repost it here instead!
I would like to know more about Syrinx civilization in general, but I can't seem to find anything outside of what's already shown on the pathfinder wiki. I already know that they have a decent relationship with the Strix (at least in the past) and other avian creatures, as well as a desire to atone for their previous barbaric behavior. I also know that their current pretentions regarding art and philosophy do little to obscure the fact that they are slavers that desire to "enlighten" everything under the sun that doesn't have a set of wings.
What I would like to know is "Why?" What events in their history drove them away from the concept of barbarism and into enlightenment? Was it the work of a god that turned them from one bird of prey into another? Were they always slavers? How far does this sophistication go? Are there Syrinxes that desire to return to the old ways?
What gods do they worship? I suspect gods of an infernal nature such as Asmodeus and his dukes are followed, especially the former since he possesses "slavery" in his portfolio, but what about gods with a bird motif, such as Shax (who has storks as his sacred animal) and Tanagaar (who has owls)? Perhaps, and this is a hefty reach, someone like the Daemon Harbinger Uaransaph, who has the portfolio of "Non-magical flight, falling and projectiles"?
On their work as slavers and philosophers, how interconnected are the two? The pathfinder wiki article did mention that they had a caste system, although they mentioned that it was in regards for race, with the Syrinx obviously at the top. Is there a difference between the two jobs, such as a separate caste system entirely or are the two jobs bundled up into one big package? Do they have contacts related to their job, IE. other human traffickers or big thinker types? If so, who are they and how do they...
We haven't said much about the Syrinx yet, beyond really what we've said in Inner Sea Bestiary and Inner Sea Races, as far as I know. No new information to reveal at this time; sorry!
What materials could you make a sling out of in the darklands? I can see finding rocks would be supper easy.
Do you think a morlock using a sling would be implossable from the background of morlocks on golarion?
Even if they are just using rocks because they no longer can make lead bullets is one idea I had.
Nope, sorry!SYRINX
SYRINX
SYRINX
SYRINX
SYRINX
Well thanks anyways, and sorry for the wall of text!
On the other hand, I have another question: Whenever I look up a God's stats or other details about it, I always notice a line that shows the "sacred animal" of a god. As far as I have read crunch-wise, this does not have any impact on the game outside of flavor.
But theoretically, if this detail was implemented in game, how would you go about it? Perhaps it would be part of an archetype that made the sacred animal into an animal companion, or you would be able to summon it via Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally? And if either of those examples were the case, how broken would Anogetz be?
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What materials could you make a sling out of in the darklands? I can see finding rocks would be supper easy.
Do you think a morlock using a sling would be implossable from the background of morlocks on golarion?
Even if they are just using rocks because they no longer can make lead bullets is one idea I had.
Leather from monsters, or maybe strips of giant mushroom or some sort of gross leathery fungus.
Not implausible, but not standard. They're more into the whole getting up close in melee scene.
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On the other hand, I have another question: Whenever I look up a God's stats or other details about it, I always notice a line that shows the "sacred animal" of a god. As far as I have read crunch-wise, this does not have any impact on the game outside of flavor.
But theoretically, if this detail was implemented in game, how would you go about it? Perhaps it would be part of an archetype that made the sacred animal into an animal companion, or you would be able to summon it via Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally? And if either of those examples were the case, how broken would Anogetz be?
It's mostly flavor. The best way to implement it in game is to focus on summoning those types of creatures when you cast summon monster, if possible.
Being able to summon ALL animals isn't broken. Just needlessly complicated in your scheme, since it leads to option paralysis when you start, but in the end you'll likely end up finding a favorite animal and summon that one all the time so being able to summon all animals won't matter. In a case like that I'd suggest that the character pick one animal at the start as his/her personal sacred one for his/her personal faith.
If a humanoid with 3 or 4 arms was using a weapon that required 3 or 4 hands, what should the benefit be?
We've considered x2 STR Bonus (instead of x1.5 STR Bonus)
We've considered another weapon category up in size.
Any thoughts or ideas on this?
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If a humanoid with 3 or 4 arms was using a weapon that required 3 or 4 hands, what should the benefit be?
We've considered x2 STR Bonus (instead of x1.5 STR Bonus)
We've considered another weapon category up in size.
Any thoughts or ideas on this?
I would say stop adding multipliers at 2 hands, frankly. Law of diminishing returns, if you will.
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Hi James, I'm a newbie player and I have a question for you.
I would create a Transmutation Wizard in order to change my form in according to the challenge.
Years ago, I watched the film "Wrath of the Titans" and in this film I was fell in love about the makhai, a Large Creature with six-harmed that is a pain in a Battlefield. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sBHkzRcO1Q )
Yesterday I have found the Calikang creature, that's perfect.
If I use the spell MONSTROUS PHYSIQUE II (or III), can I trasform in a Calikang?
If the respond is Yes is awesome, BUT I hear the penality about the Primary hand and the Off-Hand attack with 6 swords SO the question now is:
if I create my wizard with Spell Combat, and after I use the spell Frostbite, can I attack with a 5 slams dealing 1d6 for each slam + primary hand a longsword without any penality?Wuold you take me other advice to optimize my transformation?
I hope that you understand what I asked, and sorry for my bad english.
Using polymorph spells to assume monster forms is something that's best run by your GM; they'll be the ones who know what their game's appropriate level of polymorphing is. I generally try to avoid getting into character optimization conversations because for an employee of Paizo, it's kind of a no-win situation for us to get into; further, I personally am more interested in quirky characters and focusing on storyline and history rather than just raw rules optimization, so I don't really have much to add to that arena... sorry!
In any case, congrats to the game and have fun!
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Hey James, happy holidays!
Are you on a vacation?
Did you visit your family this year?
Thanks.
Sort of. Took a few days off work here and there but didn't do much with them other than play video games and hang out with friends, which is okay with me!
Nope.
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If you could make a second iconic character for a class, what class would it be? Why?
As a bonus - would you actually hash a (non-official) one out?
I wouldn't. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the whole idea of an iconic, which is intended to be a singular representative of a class.
If you could have pathfinder without classes, would you? Either way, why?
The only reasons anyone has so far been able to express to me why they like classes, is that they make chargen faster, and that classes give inspiration. But both of these could easily be achieved with optional prebuilt kits in a classless system, thus giving chargen speed, the inspiration, and still maintain creative freedom (the absolute lack of which is my biggest hatred of classes).
Yet despite that, they often hate that idea, but so far, none have been able to express why.
Why do you think so many players in favor of classes, seriously dislike options that give all the same benefits with none of disadvantages?
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DnD treated the rules as mere guidelines and gave lots of encouragement to treat the rules as loose and flexible. Also, several rules served well as a framework or foundation for the gm to build on.
Pathfinder backed away from that, treating the rules more like rules , then removing much of the framework for gms to use in the background.
To me Pathfinder feels more like it was written by people who saw the rules in 3.x as shackles instead of as tools to be used/ignored as needed, and feels like it was written from that standpoint, especially with how often bg, npc, and gm support stuff was removed, left open, and a response on questions about those usually boil down to "we are leaving it open for the gm to decide."
Do you feel this would be an accurate assessment?
How do you feel about a system being a "framework/guidelines" vs "rules?"
How do you think either one affects the game, particularly for groups that are more narratively focused in playstyle ?
Note, I'm not looking so much for a mechanics analysis, but more for the impact on the narrative, enjoyment of the game, and ability of the gm to run and modify the game.
Have A Happy New Years.
Any New Years Resolution you are Making?
Hey James, thanks again for answering questions.
I read you played through Hell's Vengeance. Since I am currently GM'ing it:
1) how did you like it so far?
2) Anything you would have changed if you were to GM?
3) How do you like playing an evil character?
4) You did a lot of the work on Hell's Rebels, which I haven't played but hear very good things about, do you mind fighting against the Reclamation?
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I wouldn't. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the whole idea of an iconic, which is intended to be a singular representative of a class.If you could make a second iconic character for a class, what class would it be? Why?
As a bonus - would you actually hash a (non-official) one out?
Could you make an iconic Commoner, Warrior, Expert, Adept, and Aristocrat?
Also, is there a good way to calculate high-level Commoner CR, without diving into the monster creation charts? High-level Commoners don't really seem to be CR -2 (excluding wealth modifiers and such).
I suppose we could, but we won't because iconics are for player classes, not NPC classes.
Assigning CR for any NPC requires the GM to be as much of an artist as a mathematician. By the rules, a commoner is CR –2 and the rules don't care in this case if that maps perfectly to the table in the Bestiary, which means that in pretty much every case, a commoner (and most other NPC classes) are going to be giving out a LOT more XP than the actual in-game challenge would suggest.
Either ad-hoc adjust the CR down to what table 1–1 suggests, or don't use commoners in combat encounters is my suggestion.
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Hey James, thanks again for answering questions.
I read you played through Hell's Vengeance. Since I am currently GM'ing it:
1) how did you like it so far?
2) Anything you would have changed if you were to GM?
3) How do you like playing an evil character?
4) You did a lot of the work on Hell's Rebels, which I haven't played but hear very good things about, do you mind fighting against the Reclamation?
I've started playing Hell's Vengeance, but am nowhere NEAR close to having played through it. We're currently about halfway through the first adventure.
1) Enjoying it a lot so far.
2) Probably, but that's the whole point of being a GM; your game should never 100% match another's game.
3) Love it.
4) The Reclamation is specifically NOT a part of Hell's Rebels, and the theme of the resistance against Thrune is VERY different in that AP. Hell's Rebels is about a chaotic good resistance, which plays out quite differently than the Reclamation. There are no Reclamation elements in Hell's Rebels. I quite enjoy fighting against the Reclamation, because lawful good is probably my least favorite alignment.
lawful good is probably my least favorite alignment.
So I'm guessing that Iomedae is not your favorite deity?
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lawful good is probably my least favorite alignment.So I'm guessing that Iomedae is not your favorite deity?
Of the three lawful good deities, she's in the middle. Torag's my least favorite, but I like Erastil (coincidentally, he's the only one of the 3 lawful good core deities exported from my homebrew).
When they make a movie about you which actor should be cast as you?
Is there any individual overseeing the AP line "as a whole"? As I understand it Adam and Crystal are alternating responsibility for each one over the next few, but is there someone appropriate I should direct generic requests about the line?
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James would it be possible to please get a short article like "Villains of Golarion" so as to tie Villain Codex with the campaign setting lore? Or would it be possible to please make general recommendations on how those organizations would best apply in Golarion? Thank you!
Anything is possible, but I don't think that something like what you're looking for can be done with a "short article." Personally, I'd rather not do a book like this at all and instead do something entirely new.
A better solution would have been to just use Golarion lore from the outset for Villain Codex, since the problem you're running into is one of my main complaints about not utilizing more world lore in the hardcover line. The same amount of flavor text would have been in the book if we'd assumed Golarion, and those folks who don't use Golarion wouldn't have been any more challenged to adapt the villains to their chosen settings if we had.
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James would it be possible to please get a short article like "Villains of Golarion" so as to tie Villain Codex with the campaign setting lore? Or would it be possible to please make general recommendations on how those organizations would best apply in Golarion? Thank you!Anything is possible, but I don't think that something like what you're looking for can be done with a "short article." Personally, I'd rather not do a book like this at all and instead do something entirely new.
A better solution would have been to just use Golarion lore from the outset for Villain Codex, since the problem you're running into is one of my main complaints about not utilizing more world lore in the hardcover line. The same amount of flavor text would have been in the book if we'd assumed Golarion, and those folks who don't use Golarion wouldn't have been any more challenged to adapt the villains to their chosen settings if we had.
I hear you... even the generic 3.5 D&D stuff had one, sometimes two sidebars titled "In the Realms" and "In Eberron"... [EDIT: and ALSO the APs in the Dungeon magazine!!!] Really sucks that it seems like such an uphill struggle to even get this (small? reasonable?) amount of Golarion lore from Paizo.
I don't want to repeat my original question twice, but is there anything that can be done for us lore addicts (or should I say, lore impaired, if you read some of the angry masters of the generic out there...) in terms of some of the previous books already put out by Paizo? (even casual commentaries on 'how I'd use this book in Golarion' would be nice...)
Have you ever seen the South Korean film released stateside as Chawz? If so, what did you think of it?
Ever since my young teenage foray into Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian, I've thought Dagon is pretty neat. Any chance we'll see him and his cult in Ruins of Azlant or should I just buy the Dragon mag he was featured in? I really want a Gods-type write up on his..."church".
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I hear you... even the generic 3.5 D&D stuff had one, sometimes two sidebars titled "In the Realms" and "In Eberron"... [EDIT: and ALSO the APs in the Dungeon magazine!!!] Really sucks that it seems like such an uphill struggle to even get this (small? reasonable?) amount of Golarion lore from Paizo.
I don't want to repeat my original question twice, but is there anything that can be done for us lore addicts (or should I say, lore impaired, if you read some of the angry masters of the generic out there...) in terms of some of the previous books already put out by Paizo? (even casual commentaries on 'how I'd use this book in Golarion' would be nice...)
I'm not sure what you're saying, frankly. We publish a LOT more content for Golarion than we do world-neutral content. Between the Adventure Paths, Player Companions, Campaign Setting Line, and PFS scenarios... that amount of output dwarfs the 3 books we do in the rulebook line each year.
The pace at which we're putting those books out, in fact, is the main reason I'm not eager or even capable of going in to have the Paizo staff "Golarionify" things like Villain Codex.
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Ever since my young teenage foray into Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian, I've thought Dagon is pretty neat. Any chance we'll see him and his cult in Ruins of Azlant or should I just buy the Dragon mag he was featured in? I really want a Gods-type write up on his..."church".
Not gonna reveal much about Ruins of Azlant here; you'll need to wait.
The article I wrote for Dragon works pretty well for Golarion. There's more about him in Dungeon #150 as well. And for the Pathfinder version, be sure to check out Bestiary 4 and Book of the Damned 2.
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2. Which other country's horror cinema is most to your taste on average?2) Japan. France comes in a close second.
You gave this answer a while back to someone. Sorry I can't keep up with your thread. Any examples of French horror films that you've loved? I don't get to see nearly as much these days, although I love the genre and can't think of any I've seen from France.
(And thanks again for the excellent Cthulhu game at the last PaizoCon. It made the weekend.)
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I hear you... even the generic 3.5 D&D stuff had one, sometimes two sidebars titled "In the Realms" and "In Eberron"... [EDIT: and ALSO the APs in the Dungeon magazine!!!] Really sucks that it seems like such an uphill struggle to even get this (small? reasonable?) amount of Golarion lore from Paizo.
I don't want to repeat my original question twice, but is there anything that can be done for us lore addicts (or should I say, lore impaired, if you read some of the angry masters of the generic out there...) in terms of some of the previous books already put out by Paizo? (even casual commentaries on 'how I'd use this book in Golarion' would be nice...)
I'm not sure what you're saying, frankly. We publish a LOT more content for Golarion than we do world-neutral content. Between the Adventure Paths, Player Companions, Campaign Setting Line, and PFS scenarios... that amount of output dwarfs the 3 books we do in the rulebook line each year.
The pace at which we're putting those books out, in fact, is the main reason I'm not eager or even capable of going in to have the Paizo staff "Golarionify" things like Villain Codex.
Fair enough. Thanks for answering. I absolutely love Paths of the Righteous and the First World setting book. To clarify: when I was talking of small/reasonable amount of Golarion lore it was in reference to the Villain Codex and other RPG line books. It would be nice to get a brief sidebar or nugget for the orgs detailed therein in the future; I appreciate that it may be too onerous to revisit books published in the past.
Happy 2017, James! :)
I wanted to ask for a story: consider a chaotic neutral cultist of Yog-Sothoth or Azathoth who lives a relatively uneventful life, then dies. What are some possible judgements Pharasma might pass on them?
(Thinking of chaotic neutral planes there is of course the maelstrom, but not sure whether such a person would be considered to have deserved reward or punishment, and no idea on what constitutes punishment or reward in the maelstrom either...)
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2. Which other country's horror cinema is most to your taste on average?2) Japan. France comes in a close second.You gave this answer a while back to someone. Sorry I can't keep up with your thread. Any examples of French horror films that you've loved? I don't get to see nearly as much these days, although I love the genre and can't think of any I've seen from France.
(And thanks again for the excellent Cthulhu game at the last PaizoCon. It made the weekend.)
Some excellent French horror movies that come to mind would be the following... and WARNING. These movies are ALL incredibly extreeme and hard core in their content. They're absolutely not mainstream horror. Martyrs and Frontier(s) in particular, are among the most violent/gory movies I've ever seen. Actually... Martyrs IS the most violent/gory movie I've seen, but it might rank at #1 there because if you can endure the gore and violence and grim subject matter, it's also got a very disturbing and freaky and effective message to deliver about the nature of life and death and the meaning of it all. Very very bleak. Do not watch if you want to be happy.
Martyrs
Frontier(s)
High Tension
The Horde
Them
Fears of the Dark (this one is easily the least violent of the list)
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At what age does dwarven hair start graying?
Does elven hair GET gray with age?
Dwarven hair starts to gray at the same age as humans; late middle age or thereabouts. It varies.
Elven hair does not gray with age. Elves don't get "old" looking when they age; they pretty much stay the same looking more or less until the end.
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Happy 2017, James! :)
I wanted to ask for a story: consider a chaotic neutral cultist of Yog-Sothoth or Azathoth who lives a relatively uneventful life, then dies. What are some possible judgements Pharasma might pass on them?
(Thinking of chaotic neutral planes there is of course the maelstrom, but not sure whether such a person would be considered to have deserved reward or punishment, and no idea on what constitutes punishment or reward in the maelstrom either...)
A chaotic neutral cultist of ANY of the Outer Gods will not live a relatively uneventful life. Not if they're halfway serious about their worship. If they're not, and thus don't do anything to distinguish themselves for their deity that they profess to worship, then they'll likely be judged on the harsh end of things, as with all people who profess faith but don't actually follow up on it.
NOTE: There's a difference between saying you're faithful and being lazy about it (sin of sloth) and not being overtly religious but giving lip service to a deity or deities (not a sin).
In any event, it's not useful to list "what sort of judgments Pharasma might list" since that limits the infinite.
A chaotic neutral cultist of ANY of the Outer Gods will not live a relatively uneventful life. Not if they're halfway serious about their worship. If they're not, and thus don't do anything to distinguish themselves for their deity that they profess to worship, then they'll likely be judged on the harsh end of things, as with all people who profess faith but don't actually follow up on it.NOTE: There's a difference between saying you're faithful and being lazy about it (sin of sloth) and not being overtly religious but giving lip service to a deity or deities (not a sin).
In any event, it's not useful to list "what sort of judgments Pharasma might list" since that limits the infinite.
Thank you, this makes sense, and I do see those grounds for harsher judgment. Likewise with limiting the infinite, though I have follow-up questions (please answer only if doing so feels meaningful):
- Can any of the outer planes serve equally as both a place of reward and a place of punishment, or is this asymmetrical (e.g.; going to an upper plane is almost always a reward, going to a lower plane is almost always punishment)?
- Alternately put, are people commonly punished/rewarded in the plane of the alignment they would claim to have had, the alignment they actually had, or the alignment best suited for punishing/rewarding them? Or any/all of these, for different cases?