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I really like "Strange Aeons" so far and feel that some Mythos creatures are even more horrific because of their titanic size.
In book 5 there are a few gargantuan enemies, among them "Xhamen-Dor".
I feel that it´s very hard to represent gargantuan creatures on a battle map for most people, as there are no pawns of that size and that a lot of GMs don´t use them at all because of that fact, but i think they are a vital part of Pathfinder at higher levels.
I made a gargantuan pawn of Xhamen-Dor by cutting out a 16 inches long and 4 inches broad piece of cardboard, folding it 4 times, glueing four photocopies of it´s art on each section and then tape the ends together.
I figured out an even easier way to represent a gargantuan mini by taking a huge pawn and putting it sideways (it´s 4 inches broad that way) into a huge base.
My question is:
1. How are the chances of getting official gargantuan pawns from Paizo?
PS: I use this for representation of your avatar on the Flip-Mat: T-Rex
What part of Golarion do you think would fit best in a Dark Souls inspired adventure (deadly landscapes, incredibly sparse civilization, generally lonely atmosphere, etc)?
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1) Is the connection between Golarion and Earth unique when concerning the Dreamlands, or are the Dreamlands present and similar on all planets with sentient/dreaming life?
2) I was a bit disappointed that we did not get a proper Gazetteer about the Dreamlands in Strange Aeon's Dreams of the Yellow King. I know you did not directly work on the AP, but I'm still curious: Is there any plans for releasing one, and perhaps A Pathfinder-setting friendly map to go with it? I really enjoyed the article on Leng, but a piece on the Dreamlands would be a wonderful resource.
3) Is there anything like an Animus Mundi on Golarion; i.e a Soul of the World? Either as a Force, a Place deep within a Plane, or both/more.
4) My players are detouring through the Dreamlands in an interlude between Chapters 5 and 6 of RoTRL. Dual question:
a) Would figures like Kuranes, the Priests of Flame and perhaps even Randolph Carter (as the King of Ilek Vad), be interested in assisting heroic PCs stop a dream-abusing Runelord and perhaps stop a Great Old One from manifesting in the Waking World (Mhar)? How do you think these characters might give their input or provide aid, etc.?
b) What are some interesting Bestiary encounters for places like Sarkomand, Xura, the Sunset Sea, etc. beyond Denizens of Leng, Moonbeasts and other staple Dreamlands horrors?
1) If a place has something that dreams, it can reach the dreamlands. If the thing that dreams is human, it can reach Lovecraft's dreamlands in particular. If it knows/can find the way.
2) No plans. Turns out, though, that Chaosium's released a hardcover and several adventures on the Dreamlands that have a LOT of information. When I originally outlined the AP, my initial plan was to have a double-sized Dreamlands gazetteer that I was either gonna write or closely develop, but that plan fell through when I got shifted over to Curse of the Crimson Throne. Now, though, no plans to do a Dreamlands gazetteer; the chance to do one is pretty much behind us at this point.
3) Unrevealed.
4a) They would be if you want them to get involved. If it were my game, they absolutely would be; they're parts of the dreamlands and having them show up is fun! We didn't do that in the adventure because that was too much to present all in a single adventure that was already bursting at the seams.
4b) Read Chaosium's dreamlands books and adventures. Or just read Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath and some of the other dreamlands stories by other authors. I can't really get into detailing encounters here since that's design work and I don't want to do that in this thread.
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Do you design any region or character with a dialect or accent in mind?Which region of Golarion is most likely to produce thick highland Scottish accents?None by design.
But considering how 978% of gamers play dwarves with Scottish accents, I guess the Five Kings Mountains as a result.
Nope. Not a fan of that, really.
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I feel like this should be sent to be FAQ'd or errata'd.
What's the intended function of Monk/Brawler's Dwarf Favored Class Bonus:
"Reduce the Hardness of any object made of clay, stone, or metal by 1 whenever the object is struck by the monk's unarmed strike (minimum of 0)."?
Does this
- Reduce the hardness for the unarmed strike but not other things?
- Permanently/Instantly reduce the Hardness once?
- Permanently/Instantly reduce the Hardness each time an object is stuck?
- Something else?If the damage is permanent/instant, is it reversible?
If you feel it should be FAQed, please post the question in an appropriate rules forum. Posting here won't get it FAQed at all.
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I really like "Strange Aeons" so far and feel that some Mythos creatures are even more horrific because of their titanic size.
In book 5 there are a few gargantuan enemies, among them "Xhamen-Dor".I feel that it´s very hard to represent gargantuan creatures on a battle map for most people, as there are no pawns of that size and that a lot of GMs don´t use them at all because of that fact, but i think they are a vital part of Pathfinder at higher levels.
I made a gargantuan pawn of Xhamen-Dor by cutting out a 16 inches long and 4 inches broad piece of cardboard, folding it 4 times, glueing four photocopies of it´s art on each section and then tape the ends together.
I figured out an even easier way to represent a gargantuan mini by taking a huge pawn and putting it sideways (it´s 4 inches broad that way) into a huge base.
My question is:
1. How are the chances of getting official gargantuan pawns from Paizo?
PS: I use this for representation of your avatar on the Flip-Mat: T-Rex
Pretty much zero. In order to do Gargantuan pawns or Colossal pawns, we would have to make brand new stands for them, which also means we'd have to sell them in a box, and the size of the pawns would make it so that folks would end up spending big bucks for like ten pawns, and on top of that, pawns look less impressive the larger they get.
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Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.
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Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!then i have a question that bothers me these days:
Can I activate my Spell Storing Armor by touching myself?and ive post a thread in rules questions
You'll need to wait for an answer in the rules forums or ask your GM if you can't wait. I don't answer rules questions here because it causes flame wars.
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We know that the Chyzaedu find Rovagug to be offensive (because he's too much like their own religion, but "wrong") but what is the otherwise-secular Dominion of the Black's opinion on Rovagug? Is he a silly, local god they don't really understand and don't really care about? Is he a fascinating creature they think they can contain and study? Or is he a terrifying monster that they're actually a little afraid of?
He's not a silly local god at all, but they're not worried about him because he's locked away. He's of academic interest but largely irrelevant.
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Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Ooo, will have to look into it.
(I at first thought your were talking about Nos-4-A2 from Buzz Lightyear :3)
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Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Ooo, will have to look into it.
(I at first thought your were talking about Nos-4-A2 from Buzz Lightyear :3)
A great part about Joe Hill books being excellent is that he's Stephen King's son, so we have a backup!
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A great part about Joe Hill books being excellent is that he's Stephen King's son, so we have a backup!Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Ooo, will have to look into it.
(I at first thought your were talking about Nos-4-A2 from Buzz Lightyear :3)
Ha! Excellent.
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You'll need to wait for an answer in the rules forums or ask your GM if you can't wait. I don't answer rules questions here because it causes flame wars.I'm sorry to be that nerd.
After all thank you for response =D
No worries. I generally get folks asking rules questions here every few days and need to repeat the mantra for them to go ask their questions in the rules forum. You already did that so you're good to go.
What would be the category (Intuitive, Self-Taught or Trained) of the Occult Classes according to the table 5-1 in the Appendix 1 of the Advanced Race Guide (page 248)?
In what category would be the Kineticist, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic and Spiritualist?
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Thanks for the response. I am a big fan of Chaosium's Dreamlands material and Lovecraft's dream stories. :) I am a little disappointed that your plan for the double-duty gazetteer got scrapped, but such is life.
1) On the matter of the Elemental Planes, some of the books suggest that at the edge of these planes they begin to cross over into the next elemental plane 'physically'. If one traveled beyond the edge of the Plane of Fire, what exactly would happen? The same question to the Plane of Air, which terminates against the Material Plane. Is this a physical boundary, i.e. if you traveled enough into the Material or towards it from the Plane of Air, would you cross over? I'm curious to how this might be like in a descriptive sense. I'm getting some of this stuff from Planes of Power, for the record.
2) Are Kaiju a planet's defense against things like Great Old Ones?
3) Speaking of Old Ones: If a Great Old Ones influence, or the GOO itself crept into the First World, how would that Plane react? What of the Eldest, especially with such horror creeping into one of their domains?
4) How would you recommend applying stats to the Great Ones (the little gods of Dream), like Nath-Horthath? As normal Gods, without stats, as demigods, as outsiders, etc.? Curious. This might actually come up in some of my design work.
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What would be the category (Intuitive, Self-Taught or Trained) of the Occult Classes according to the table 5-1 in the Appendix 1 of the Advanced Race Guide (page 248)?
In what category would be the Kineticist, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic and Spiritualist?
Dunno. I'm not familiar enough with those classes to say for sure. You should ask on the rules forums for the design team to weigh in.
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Creative Director
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Thanks for the response. I am a big fan of Chaosium's Dreamlands material and Lovecraft's dream stories. :) I am a little disappointed that your plan for the double-duty gazetteer got scrapped, but such is life.
1) On the matter of the Elemental Planes, some of the books suggest that at the edge of these planes they begin to cross over into the next elemental plane 'physically'. If one traveled beyond the edge of the Plane of Fire, what exactly would happen? The same question to the Plane of Air, which terminates against the Material Plane. Is this a physical boundary, i.e. if you traveled enough into the Material or towards it from the Plane of Air, would you cross over? I'm curious to how this might be like in a descriptive sense. I'm getting some of this stuff from Planes of Power, for the record.
2) Are Kaiju a planet's defense against things like Great Old Ones?
3) Speaking of Old Ones: If a Great Old Ones influence, or the GOO itself crept into the First World, how would that Plane react? What of the Eldest, especially with such horror creeping into one of their domains?
4) How would you recommend applying stats to the Great Ones (the little gods of Dream), like Nath-Horthath? As normal Gods, without stats, as demigods, as outsiders, etc.? Curious. This might actually come up in some of my design work.
1) There are physical boundaries between the planes, but the distances one must travel to transition from one to the other can vary. In places, it's an instant transition, such as what you see on this planet when you have a transition from atmosphere to ocean. In others, it's a diffuse one, such as what you see in atmosphere to outer space. In some cases, that distance is enormously wide, even—a distance that must be measured in astronomical units or even light years.
2) No.
3) It varies on where and who. In some cases, it would be bad for the First World and the Eldest. In others, it would bolster them. There's a LOT of thematic similarity between some Lovecraftian stories and faerie realm stories.
4) I'd stat them up as CR 21–25 unique outsiders, as quasi deities, in the same category as nascent demon lords.
I agree that for many people, the concept of sex being good is difficult to comprehend. It doesn't help when a game doesn't provide examples of sex being good, and focuses only on it being a tool used by evil creatures.I wanted to include a powerful creature in the game that was sexual in nature that not only wasn't evil, but was actually a powerful force for GOOD.I can't help but feel that's a counter-intuitive concept for most people culturally. How much trouble was it for you to get Arshes in Bestiary 6?
Which gets me thinking, if you were to design a good-aligned version of Porphyry House, what would it be like? What would the main differences be?
As for a Pathfinder example of sex being a force for good, what's your opinion of the Palace of Delectation?
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I agree that for many people, the concept of sex being good is difficult to comprehend. It doesn't help when a game doesn't provide examples of sex being good, and focuses only on it being a tool used by evil creatures.I wanted to include a powerful creature in the game that was sexual in nature that not only wasn't evil, but was actually a powerful force for GOOD.I can't help but feel that's a counter-intuitive concept for most people culturally. How much trouble was it for you to get Arshes in Bestiary 6?Which gets me thinking, if you were to design a good-aligned version of Porphyry House, what would it be like? What would the main differences be?
As for a Pathfinder example of sex being a force for good, what's your opinion of the Palace of Delectation?
I wouldn't. Good aligned locations for ANY business make boring adventure sites, unless you're playing evil, and in that case, I wouldn't design it at all since of all the evil plots, the ones that could end up with rapey PCs are the ones I'm least interested in designing or running games for.
First I've heard of the palace of Delectation. It's a great thing, but the fact that it's squirreled away in a softcover where even the creative director wasn't aware of it is an indication of why I felt it was important to get someone like Arshea into a book with orders of magnitude more visibility out there in the world.
How did you come up with the names of each Kaiju? What languages(if any) are they based on? do they have any actual meaning?
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How did you come up with the names of each Kaiju? What languages(if any) are they based on? do they have any actual meaning?
They're nonsense words I made up out of the blue, inspired in lots of ways by the phonetics and conventions of kaiju monster names from movies made in numerous countries (mostly Japan, of course).
A great part about Joe Hill books being excellent is that he's Stephen King's son, so we have a backup!Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Ooo, will have to look into it.
(I at first thought your were talking about Nos-4-A2 from Buzz Lightyear :3)
Does this mean that Stephen King is planning on extending his life Lex Luthor style?
Luthor, dying from Kryptonite poisoning, (apparantly wearing a Kryptonite ring all those years gives you bad cancer) had his brain transplanted into his clone, who was disguised as his son.
If you were to design a good-aligned version of Porphyry House, what would it be like? What would the main differences be?I wouldn't. Good aligned locations for ANY business make boring adventure sites, unless you're playing evil, and in that case, I wouldn't design it at all since of all the evil plots, the ones that could end up with rapey PCs are the ones I'm least interested in designing or running games for.
...Let's rephrase my question. ^_^;
If you were to take of your game designer hat, and put on your worldbuilding hat (like you did when making Sandpoint), what would a good-aligned palatial brothel you designed be like? (And if you have to be game designer-y, think of it as a fortress to defend.)
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A great part about Joe Hill books being excellent is that he's Stephen King's son, so we have a backup!Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
Ooo, will have to look into it.
(I at first thought your were talking about Nos-4-A2 from Buzz Lightyear :3)
Does this mean that Stephen King is planning on extending his life Lex Luthor style?
Luthor, dying from Kryptonite poisoning, (apparantly wearing a Kryptonite ring all those years gives you bad cancer) had his brain transplanted into his clone, who was disguised as his son.
No. It means that some day, Stephen King is going to pass away, and when that happens, I'm confident Joe Hill will continue his legacy with skill and style.
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If you were to design a good-aligned version of Porphyry House, what would it be like? What would the main differences be?I wouldn't. Good aligned locations for ANY business make boring adventure sites, unless you're playing evil, and in that case, I wouldn't design it at all since of all the evil plots, the ones that could end up with rapey PCs are the ones I'm least interested in designing or running games for....Let's rephrase my question. ^_^;
If you were to take of your game designer hat, and put on your worldbuilding hat (like you did when making Sandpoint), what would a good-aligned palatial brothel you designed be like? (And if you have to be game designer-y, think of it as a fortress to defend.)
It's irresponsible and counter-productive to take off a game designer hat when building a world for a game, first of all.
And I don't do design work or world building work on the boards, so I'm not gonna build you a good-aligned brothel here. As for HOW I would do it? The same way I build any location in the game. Map it, populate it with characters, give it a history, make sure there are interesting things for adventurers to explore and uncover.
I just got the chance to look at Paths of the Righteous, and noticed the New Thassilonian Magic feat, letting a Thassilonian specialist customize one of their two opposition schools. I remember you saying at one point that you spent a great deal of time picking the choices and flavour that went into those opposed schools, so how does that feat tie in with that?
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I just got the chance to look at Paths of the Righteous, and noticed the New Thassilonian Magic feat, letting a Thassilonian specialist customize one of their two opposition schools. I remember you saying at one point that you spent a great deal of time picking the choices and flavour that went into those opposed schools, so how does that feat tie in with that?
It's a logical result of a new group of spellcasters taking the research and traditions of Thassilon in new directions. It costs a feat to do it, so it's not free, and in most cases I suspect that spending a feat to do this isn't something most wizards would consider as an efficient move. Still... it's now an option. It's not one anyone in ancient Thassilon would have used, in any event, and it doesn't undermine all the work that went into the flavor in determining the way Thassilonian magic works.
It's irresponsible and counter-productive to take off a game designer hat when building a world for a game.
Terribly sorry, didn't mean to be that way. It does make intuitive sense, though.
Can you give me an example, but I'm not asking you to name names here, of world-building for a game without game design in mind?
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It's irresponsible and counter-productive to take off a game designer hat when building a world for a game.Terribly sorry, didn't mean to be that way. It does make intuitive sense, though.
Can you give me an example, but I'm not asking you to name names here, of world-building for a game without game design in mind?
Nope.
World-building for a novel or a comic book or a movie or a tv show is what you're talking about; world-building where all of the content is created by the content creator. Even video game design grants its content creators more agency in creating their world than tabletop RPGs. It's really a quite different way to go about it all, and I cant give you an example about how to do it for a tabletop RPG because it just doesn't work that way.
Yes. Been reading Joe Hill lately, and LOVING his work. NOS4A2 is what I'm reading now and it's excellent.Ish okay, make up for it by asking the Directorsaur a question if you'd like!
James, are there any books you're currently reading and liking?
He's Stephen King's son, right? Do you have a favorite one of his works? I've thought about picking something up by him.
Edit: Never mind the first question, I see you already answered. I should have read further. :)
Still, any works of his leap out as a great place to start? I.E. favorites?