
Drahliana Moonrunner |

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:I have no idea what you're talking about.Is The Little Prince anywhere to be found in the Golarion system?
If so, what are his stats?
What are his flower's stats?
This classic story written in rather extreme circumstances. Written in the 40's been translated to just about every language and in almost every conceivable media. For a fairy tale it has a disturbing ending.

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What about categorized compendium books with all (or nearly all) rules/mechanical material published by Paizo until now?
I'd suggest something between Ultimate Equipment and the D&D 3.5 compendium books (i.e. Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium) format.
I think Pathfinder is too old/mature (almost 8 years since august/2009) at this time; and from now on, I guess less new mechanical material (with exception of monsters hehe) will be published in the next years, and the compendiums could be very useful in the game table (I prefer books instead of online material in most of times, and I think a lot of players have the same feeling/preference)
Well, it's just an (good) idea, and a fan's desire :D
Just finishing, it could be:
Classes Compendium (including Archetypes and Prestige Classes)
Feat Compendium
Spell Compendium
Equipment/Magic Items Compendium
The thing that bothers me about compendium books is that they more or less immediately become obsolete when the next book that contains that option gets published. Since we publish a VERY aggressive schedule of books (new feats and spells and the like more or less come out every month in the Player Companion line alone), a compendium book is something of a waste of effort in my opinion. Instead, we periodically gather previously published content into hardcovers and add new content to round it out, as you see us do with the Bestiaries or any of the Ultimate books.

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James Jacobs wrote:This classic story written in rather extreme circumstances. Written in the 40's been translated to just about every language and in almost every conceivable media. For a fairy tale it has a disturbing ending.I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:I have no idea what you're talking about.Is The Little Prince anywhere to be found in the Golarion system?
If so, what are his stats?
What are his flower's stats?
Well, the fact that I've never heard of it should indicate that the Little Prince is not found in Golarion, I guess. And that said, the story itself isn't in the public domain anyway, so incorporating it into the game would require licensing it. That type of thing is not something we normally do—when it DOES happen it's because someone here is very passionate about the topic (see Strange Aeons).

Drahliana Moonrunner |

Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:Well, the fact that I've never heard of it should indicate that the Little Prince is not found in Golarion, I guess. And that said, the story itself isn't in the public domain anyway, so incorporating it into the game would require licensing it. That type of thing is not something we normally do—when it DOES happen it's because someone here is very passionate about the topic (see Strange Aeons).James Jacobs wrote:This classic story written in rather extreme circumstances. Written in the 40's been translated to just about every language and in almost every conceivable media. For a fairy tale it has a disturbing ending.I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:I have no idea what you're talking about.Is The Little Prince anywhere to be found in the Golarion system?
If so, what are his stats?
What are his flower's stats?
It's probably just as well. I've read the story several times over several decades. Golarion may incorporate a lot of things, but no world can incorporate everything, and this is one best left out. That really exhausts anything further I could say in this thread. I've said too much already.

AlgaeNymph |

AlgaeNymph wrote:I've never heard of/read that spell, but the Lady's Light is FAR to enormous for that spell to work on it.James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I wanted to magically move the Sunken Queen closer to shore, either telekineticly or through teleportation. What level of spell would I need?Mythic wish, I guess. Moving an immense object like that is generally beyond the power of mortal magic.Damnit, I should've mentioned teleport structure (from p.29 of Quests and Campaigns) in my original question, I don't wanna look like I'm trying to gotcha you.
Let's say I wanted to move a building that wasn't cleared and unoccupied, and to a new place in the wilderness. Would your answer still stand?
Not according to the rules of the spell (the Sunken Queen is "only" approximately 200' x 200' x 300', within the approximately 1500' x 1500' (yes, really; each lot is 750' x 750') size range of the spell). Is this another case of rules haven passed you without your checking?
Moving along, is it possible to move a structure with move earth?
And how would you move a giant pyramid through a swamp?
Oh, and is the Everdawn Pool dependent on the building it's in, or can I move the sphere of blood (likely via teleportation circle to another facility?

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James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:I've never heard of/read that spell, but the Lady's Light is FAR to enormous for that spell to work on it.James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I wanted to magically move the Sunken Queen closer to shore, either telekineticly or through teleportation. What level of spell would I need?Mythic wish, I guess. Moving an immense object like that is generally beyond the power of mortal magic.Damnit, I should've mentioned teleport structure (from p.29 of Quests and Campaigns) in my original question, I don't wanna look like I'm trying to gotcha you.
Let's say I wanted to move a building that wasn't cleared and unoccupied, and to a new place in the wilderness. Would your answer still stand?
Not according to the rules of the spell (the Sunken Queen is "only" approximately 200' x 200' x 300', within the ~300' x 300' size range of the spell). Is this another case of rules haven passed you without your checking?
Moving along, is it possible to move a structure with move earth?
And how would you move a giant pyramid through a swamp?
Oh, and is the Everdawn Pool dependent on the building it's in, or can I move the sphere of blood (likely via teleportation circle to another facility?
Then the spell is pretty frustrating in my opinion, if you can just cast a spell to move immense landmarks around. Lame. Do what you will in your game, I guess, but don't expect that spell to see much use in published adventures.
Move earth doesn't move buildings. It just moves earth.
Frankly, "moving a giant pyramid through ANYTHING" is kinda goofy in my opinion. Structures and adventure sites are more interesting when they're destinations, not things that you have to chase down or come to you. This makes those structures that ARE mobile (such as Treerazer's fortress or a certain flying pyramid or all those flying castles) so much more unusual and interesting.
The everdawn pool is part of the sunken queen. You can't move it unless your GM lets you. If you could move it, Ileosa would have moved it to her own castle, after all, rather than suffer the indignity of going into a nasty swamp. (Another reason why simply teleporting a building is dumb for story purposes.)

Ral' Yareth |

Good Morning James!
In the context of the pathfinder campaign setting, do angels (the specific subtype of celestial) have genders? Or do they use magic to create half-celestials?
Do angels suffer any sort of punishment for mating with mortals like those described in the Judeo-Christean holy scriptures? If so who punishes them?
Thanks!

Garrett Guillotte |
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Then (teleport structure) is pretty frustrating in my opinion, if you can just cast a spell to move immense landmarks around. Lame. Do what you will in your game, I guess, but don't expect that spell to see much use in published adventures.
This came up in my game. The spell straight-up says all owners must consent to moving the structure, else it fails immediately. If anyone owns the Lady's Light (or Sunken Queen, or most landmarks), it's not the players. The spell won't work.
It also only moves structures between settlement lots in the same district, in a settlement the players control. The Lady's Light isn't in a settlement, in a district, or on a lot. It's 50 miles from Magnimar. The Sunken Queen is 160 miles from Korvosa and at least partially submerged. The spell won't work.
That spell's entire purpose is to be grease in a game using Kingmaker/UC settlement building rules, for players managing their own settlement. I'd disallow it if the game isn't using those rules.

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Good Morning James!
In the context of the pathfinder campaign setting, do angels (the specific subtype of celestial) have genders? Or do they use magic to create half-celestials?
Do angels suffer any sort of punishment for mating with mortals like those described in the Judeo-Christean holy scriptures? If so who punishes them?
Thanks!
Angels can have genders. Sarenrae is the most famous example in world of that. But many angels are genederless.
There's no punishment for mating with mortals, although fraternizing with evil mortals is risky ground for an angel regardless of the nature of said fraternizing unless its combat or redemption focused.

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James Jacobs wrote:Then (teleport structure) is pretty frustrating in my opinion, if you can just cast a spell to move immense landmarks around. Lame. Do what you will in your game, I guess, but don't expect that spell to see much use in published adventures.This came up in my game. The spell straight-up says all owners must consent to moving the structure, else it fails immediately. If anyone owns the Lady's Light (or Sunken Queen, or most landmarks), it's not the players. The spell won't work.
It also only moves structures between settlement lots in the same district. The Lady's Light isn't in a settlement, in a district, or on a lot. It's 50 miles from Magnimar. The Sunken Queen is 160 miles from Korvosa and underwater. The spell won't work.
That spell's entire purpose is to be grease in a game using Kingmaker/UC settlement building rules, for players managing their own settlement. I'd disallow it if the game isn't using those rules.
There ya go. There's also the question of "lots" mentioned in the spell. There are certainly no lots in or around the Sunken Queen, and since lots only exist in this manner in a city managment sub-rules from Kingmaker/UC, then the spell only works in that context.
So yeah, the spell isn't one that's appropriate for all games; it's really only useful in manipulating Kingmaker settlement style buildings. The spell should have been more clear on that regard.
As written, the more I look at it and with the previous post's help, allowing the spell to teleport structures outside of that context is breaking the rules, not the other way around.

Garrett Guillotte |
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it's really only useful in manipulating Kingmaker settlement style buildings. The spell should have been more clear on that regard.
Indeed, in Quests and Campaigns, it's in a section prefaced with: "The following spells can be used in conjunction with the downtime rules and kingdom-building rules presented in Ultimate Campaign." It's alongside renovation, which has a similar scope and limitations.
It's problematic mostly if pulled from an OGL source that lacks the sourcebook's context.

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Hey James,
Since a fair amount of stuff for Golarion comes from your homebrew setting, is there anything that has yet to be ported over that you would like to see make its way into book someday?
If so, would and could you tell us what?
Not really at this point. I've "sold" a LOT of my homebrew to Paizo (and before that, a fair amount to Wizards of the Coast in the form of things like Obox-ob), and at this point I'm increasingly protective of what still exists as part of my own setting and is still owned by me. That said, now and then elements of my setting still creep in—most recently the map of my version of Greyhawk/Waterdeep/Absalom in the form of the city map we published for Vyre in Pathfidnder #99 (in my homebrew, this settlement was called Eltrun City), the Outer God Nimbaloth (in Strange Aeons volume 1), and in the Parchlands that appeared in the penultimate volume of Strange Aeons.
I'm sure more will creep in at some point, but for now there's not something in particular that I'm planning on doing so with.

Axial |

1) Can an Iomedan paladin become a land-owning noble in Cheliax, provided they don't attempt to overthrow House Thrune?
2) Would Iomedae allow a paladin of her to own land in Cheliax and not oppose House Thrune provided that she tried to make things as fair and just for her subjects as possible? Like, by buying slaves and then immediately releasing them? Or keeping "slaves" who are for all intents and purposes free?
Reason: I'm thinking of a campaign set in Cheliax where the PCs are allies/associates/friends/servants of such a paladin. She tries to do the best she can to give her subjects a better life while appeasing House Thrune. Then the Thrunies make an excuse to get rid of her anyway, the Chelish army burns the village, and the PCs witness her getting killed by a Tyrant antipaladin after a heroic last stand. They have to flee with the survivors and eventually avenge her death.

AlgaeNymph |

Garrett Guillotte wrote:James Jacobs wrote:Then (teleport structure) is pretty frustrating in my opinion, if you can just cast a spell to move immense landmarks around. Lame. Do what you will in your game, I guess, but don't expect that spell to see much use in published adventures.This came up in my game. The spell straight-up says all owners must consent to moving the structure, else it fails immediately. If anyone owns the Lady's Light (or Sunken Queen, or most landmarks), it's not the players. The spell won't work.
It also only moves structures between settlement lots in the same district. The Lady's Light isn't in a settlement, in a district, or on a lot. It's 50 miles from Magnimar. The Sunken Queen is 160 miles from Korvosa and underwater. The spell won't work.
That spell's entire purpose is to be grease in a game using Kingmaker/UC settlement building rules, for players managing their own settlement. I'd disallow it if the game isn't using those rules.
There ya go. There's also the question of "lots" mentioned in the spell. There are certainly no lots in or around the Sunken Queen, and since lots only exist in this manner in a city management sub-rules from Kingmaker/UC, then the spell only works in that context.
So yeah, the spell isn't one that's appropriate for all games; it's really only useful in manipulating Kingmaker settlement style buildings. The spell should have been more clear on that regard.
As written, the more I look at it and with the previous post's help, allowing the spell to teleport structures outside of that context is breaking the rules, not the other way around.
A perfectly valid point, but I (mostly) was offering that spell as an example.
Let's use a more narrative precedent. Approximately what level of magic did the Shory need to levitate their buildings?

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1) Can an Iomedan paladin become a land-owning noble in Cheliax, provided they don't attempt to overthrow House Thrune?
2) Would Iomedae allow a paladin of her to own land in Cheliax and not oppose House Thrune provided that she tried to make things as fair and just for her subjects as possible? Like, by buying slaves and then immediately releasing them? Or keeping "slaves" who are for all intents and purposes free?
Reason: I'm thinking of a campaign set in Cheliax where the PCs are allies/associates/friends/servants of such a paladin. She tries to do the best she can to give her subjects a better life while appeasing House Thrune. Then the Thrunies make an excuse to get rid of her anyway, the Chelish army burns the village, and the PCs witness her getting killed by a Tyrant antipaladin after a heroic last stand. They have to flee with the survivors and eventually avenge her death.
1) Yes.
2) Yes. You can fight evil in lots of ways. You don't have to fight evil with violence.
In fact, as I've said before, I think the STRONGEST role a paladin can play in a story is that of a martyr, which is partially why I think they make such poor choices usually as PCs.

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Let's use a more narrative precedent. Approximately what level of magic did the Shory need to levitate their buildings?
That's an entirely different thing than coming in and teleporting a structure that was never intended to be teleported, first of all.
The Shory didn't "levitate" buildings. They made entire flying cities. The buildings themselves weren't free-floating; they were attached to the city itself. And the flying aspect of the city was achieved via powerful Mythic magic effects we haven't yet provided rules for, as far as I know, although if we've said anything about it, it would have been in the article about the Shory back in Mummy's Mask #5.

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Axial wrote:1) Can an Iomedan paladin become a land-owning noble in Cheliax, provided they don't attempt to overthrow House Thrune?1) Yes.
Are you familiar with the paladin of this sort in the Pathfinder Tales novel Hellknight? If so, was that a reasonable presentation of the sort of challenges such a character would face balancing religion and state?

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James Jacobs wrote:Are you familiar with the paladin of this sort in the Pathfinder Tales novel Hellknight? If so, was that a reasonable presentation of the sort of challenges such a character would face balancing religion and state?Axial wrote:1) Can an Iomedan paladin become a land-owning noble in Cheliax, provided they don't attempt to overthrow House Thrune?1) Yes.
Haven't read that book.

Drahliana Moonrunner |

In fact, as I've said before, I think the STRONGEST role a paladin can play in a story is that of a martyr, which is partially why I think they make such poor choices usually as PCs.
That's an interesting perspective as that's exactly the way my Living Force Jedi Padawan ended his career, as a deliberate sacrifice to bring a race out of a Darkside trap. He was made a Knight posthumously.
Did you ever play in any of the RPGA Living campaigns?

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James Jacobs wrote:
In fact, as I've said before, I think the STRONGEST role a paladin can play in a story is that of a martyr, which is partially why I think they make such poor choices usually as PCs.
That's an interesting perspective as that's exactly the way my Living Force Jedi Padawan ended his career, as a deliberate sacrifice to bring a race out of a Darkside trap. He was made a Knight posthumously.
Did you ever play in any of the RPGA Living campaigns?
Nope. Never. I actually really do not enjoy massive multiplayer campaigns like RPGA or Pathfinder Society. One of my favorite parts of playing an RPG is the shared experience you build with the other players and the relationships your characters build with each other over the course of a campaign. Having to play with new characters every session in an environment like a convention where things are noisy and distracting is bad enough, and when you're not a fan of crowds and are an introvert who gets nervous about meeting new people in the first place... any amount of fun to be had from an organized play program is crushed to dust. Furthermore, I love creating quirky characters who sometimes make poor or non-optimized choices, and gaming in an overly competitive environment where so many players get antagonistic or insulting when other players don't "play the game right" is a huge turn-off.
I appreciate the value they have to the companies who run them and the people who enjoy playing in them, but they're not things I personally enjoy.

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Hello James Jacobs I am contemplating making a paladin of Kehpri which I guess is weird. From what I gathered Kehpri is worshiped mostly by peasants and aids those who work. So my question is what advice could you give me about what a paladin of The Humble Hamd would do when not smiting or typical views on their duty?
Thanks in advanced.
Edit: also any info on additional pathfinder books that would lead to more info on pathfinder Kehpri would be most appreciated!

AlgaeNymph |

AlgaeNymph wrote:Let's use a more narrative precedent. Approximately what level of magic did the Shory need to levitate their buildings?That's an entirely different thing than coming in and teleporting a structure that was never intended to be teleported, first of all.
The Shory didn't "levitate" buildings. They made entire flying cities. The buildings themselves weren't free-floating; they were attached to the city itself. And the flying aspect of the city was achieved via powerful Mythic magic effects we haven't yet provided rules for, as far as I know, although if we've said anything about it, it would have been in the article about the Shory back in Mummy's Mask #5.
Thanks for the reference, and for your patience.
Seriously, you're one of the very few people who hasn't basically told me to shut up and go away because I like to ask questions, to the point of interrogation as I like to say. It means a lot to me.
Back to the questions.
Do magical academies (such as the Acadamae) have ready-to-copy spells in their libraries, or are those only found in spellbooks?
What will a contract devil offer in exchange for a sexual favor from a beautiful and powerful mortal?
Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?

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Hello James Jacobs I am contemplating making a paladin of Kehpri which I guess is weird. From what I gathered Kehpri is worshiped mostly by peasants and aids those who work. So my question is what advice could you give me about what a paladin of The Humble Hamd would do when not smiting or typical views on their duty?
Thanks in advanced.
Edit: also any info on additional pathfinder books that would lead to more info on pathfinder Kehpri would be most appreciated!
I have no advice; I'm not familiar enough off the top of my head about Kehpri and how we presented the deity in Pathfinder since I wasn't directly involved with Mummy's Mask (which is where I'm assuming this question is coming from?).

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Do magical academies (such as the Acadamae) have ready-to-copy spells in their libraries, or are those only found in spellbooks?
What will a contract devil offer in exchange for a sexual favor from a beautiful and powerful mortal?
Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?
No.
Contract devils are generally not interested in sex.
There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.

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countchocula wrote:I have no advice; I'm not familiar enough off the top of my head about Kehpri and how we presented the deity in Pathfinder since I wasn't directly involved with Mummy's Mask (which is where I'm assuming this question is coming from?).Hello James Jacobs I am contemplating making a paladin of Kehpri which I guess is weird. From what I gathered Kehpri is worshiped mostly by peasants and aids those who work. So my question is what advice could you give me about what a paladin of The Humble Hamd would do when not smiting or typical views on their duty?
Thanks in advanced.
Edit: also any info on additional pathfinder books that would lead to more info on pathfinder Kehpri would be most appreciated!
Thanks for taking the time to respond James Jacobs! looks like I'm off to ask Rob McCreary.

AlgaeNymph |

AlgaeNymph wrote:What will a contract devil offer in exchange for a sexual favor from a beautiful and powerful mortal?Contract devils are generally not interested in sex.
Bor-ing~
Do contract accept anything besides souls or lifetimes of servitude?
Besides sire devils, what devils are interested in sex?

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James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:What will a contract devil offer in exchange for a sexual favor from a beautiful and powerful mortal?Contract devils are generally not interested in sex.Bor-ing~
Do contract accept anything besides souls or lifetimes of servitude?
Besides sire devils, what devils are interested in sex?
Not everything is about sex.
Contracts can be about anything, so contract devils are equally open to that.
Sex isn't a big thing for devils really. Belial is all about it, but there's other things on their mind for the most part.
AKA: you should know by now that these boards have policies about keeping things from veering into mature topics, and as a result today is no different than yesterday in the fact that what sorts of sex devils are into isn't an appropriate topic of discussion for these boards. Talk to your GM about it or chat with other folks elsewhere on the internet, but I'm kinda growing tired of you asking questions that aren't ones that can really be discussed on this forum.

AlgaeNymph |

I'm kinda growing tired of you asking questions that aren't ones that can really be discussed on this forum.
And just when I praise you for your patience I somehow manage to anger you. Damnit.
I can't talk about sex at all? I'll watch myself then; I understand the unfortunate reasons behind the board's policy. Sorry about being a bother.
That reminds me: when did Paizo have to watch itself regarding it's content? (I still remember Hickman freaking out about that BoVD tie-in insert that was mostly adding the Mythos to D&D...)

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James Jacobs wrote:I'm kinda growing tired of you asking questions that aren't ones that can really be discussed on this forum.And just when I praise you for your patience I somehow manage to anger you. Damnit.
I can't talk about sex at all? I'll watch myself then; I understand the unfortunate reasons behind the board's policy. Sorry about being a bother.
That reminds me: when did Paizo have to watch itself regarding it's content? (I still remember Hickman freaking out about that BoVD tie-in insert that was mostly adding the Mythos to D&D...)
This is nothing new; it's been part of the board policy from day one. We can talk about mature topics here and there but can't really go into details when it comes to certain topics. Just how much is too much or how far is too far is VERY vaguely defined, which makes it impossible to talk too much about sexual content without knowing if it's going to go too far for some folks, be they fellow posters here or employees or management.
It's not my policy, and I wish it wasn't that way, but it is what it is, so you'll have to explore those options on your own or with your group, assuming they're all comfortable with more mature topics in the game.

JiCi |

Bruno Mares wrote:The thing that bothers me about compendium books is that they more or less immediately become obsolete when the next book that contains that option gets published. Since we publish a VERY aggressive schedule of books (new feats and spells and the like more or less come out every month in the Player Companion line alone), a compendium book is something of a waste of effort in my opinion. Instead, we periodically gather previously published content into hardcovers and add new content to round it out, as you see us do with the Bestiaries or any of the Ultimate books.What about categorized compendium books with all (or nearly all) rules/mechanical material published by Paizo until now?
I'd suggest something between Ultimate Equipment and the D&D 3.5 compendium books (i.e. Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium) format.
I think Pathfinder is too old/mature (almost 8 years since august/2009) at this time; and from now on, I guess less new mechanical material (with exception of monsters hehe) will be published in the next years, and the compendiums could be very useful in the game table (I prefer books instead of online material in most of times, and I think a lot of players have the same feeling/preference)
Well, it's just an (good) idea, and a fan's desire :D
Just finishing, it could be:
Classes Compendium (including Archetypes and Prestige Classes)
Feat Compendium
Spell Compendium
Equipment/Magic Items Compendium
Emphasis mine...
If rule compendiums are not your forte, what about Inner Seas content? Could it be possible to have Inner Seas compendiums that regroup Inner Seas booklets? For instance:
Guide to Korvosa
Guide to Darkmoon Vale
Into the Darklands
Guide to Absalom
Dark Markets - A Guide to Katapesh
Guide to the River Kingdoms
Heart of the Jungle
Lands of the Linnorm Kings
Isles of the Shackles
Magnimar, City of Monuments
All from as early as 2008, all merged into a single compendium, with revised and updated lore.
The idea would be to take selected regions previously presented in booklets and make them into a single book. Yes, it kinda would punish early adopters, but... it would be a nice product for newcomers or those who didn't buy the booklets.
Anyway, what's your opinion on the idea of compendiums using the Inner Seas booklets?

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The idea would be to take selected regions previously presented in booklets and make them into a single book. Yes, it kinda would punish early adopters, but... it would be a nice product for newcomers or those who didn't buy the booklets.
Anyway, what's your opinion on the idea of compendiums using the Inner Seas booklets?
It's pretty much the same. Not a fan of merely making compendiums. I much prefer taking out of print content and expanding on it. Which is what we've already done twice, with Inner Sea Gods and Inner Sea Races.

AlgaeNymph |

AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.
Makes sense.
Which gets me wondering: how'd Sorshen do business with Nocticula then? plane shift to visit in person? Something else? "Unrevealed?"
(Disclaimer: this is not yet another sex question, this is a business question.)
Maybe this example'll be better: how does Thrune do business with Hell?

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James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.Makes sense.
Which gets me wondering: how'd Sorshen do business with Nocticula then? plane shift to visit in person? Something else? "Unrevealed?"
(Disclaimer: this is not yet another sex question, this is a business question.)
Maybe this example'll be better: how does Thrune do business with Hell?
Various methods ranging from plane shift to commune to contact other plane to gate to planar ally/planar binding spells to sending, etc., etc.

SirCasimir |

Supposing there were Azlanti ruins (dungeons) on or under the surface of Avistan - what sorts of creatures would inhabit them, depending how well the ruins were preserved? What if they were ruins of the ancient serpentfolk civilization instead?
For example, would those civilizations have populated (or been able to populate) important places with construct guards? Undead? Something else?

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Supposing there were Azlanti ruins (dungeons) on or under the surface of Avistan - what sorts of creatures would inhabit them, depending how well the ruins were preserved? What if they were ruins of the ancient serpentfolk civilization instead?
For example, would those civilizations have populated (or been able to populate) important places with construct guards? Undead? Something else?
All sorts. Check out Serpent's Skull, Emerald Spire, and the upcoming Ruins of Azlant adventure path for some examples. We have lots of others scattered throughout the module line and the Pathfinder Society scenarios. Azlant was an entire continent, and that means there's a lot of variety there—anything is possible, really.

Drahliana Moonrunner |

AlgaeNymph wrote:Various methods ranging from plane shift to commune to contact other plane to gate to planar ally/planar binding spells to sending, etc., etc.James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.Makes sense.
Which gets me wondering: how'd Sorshen do business with Nocticula then? plane shift to visit in person? Something else? "Unrevealed?"
(Disclaimer: this is not yet another sex question, this is a business question.)
Maybe this example'll be better: how does Thrune do business with Hell?
Or it could be that what's "unsafe" for an average caster isn't quite as dangerous for one of the two Runelords who kept her seat from the beginning to the end of the Thassilonian Empire?

AlgaeNymph |

AlgaeNymph wrote:Various methods ranging from plane shift to commune to contact other plane to gate to planar ally/planar binding spells to sending, etc., etc.James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.Makes sense.
Which gets me wondering: how'd Sorshen do business with Nocticula then? plane shift to visit in person? Something else? "Unrevealed?"
(Disclaimer: this is not yet another sex question, this is a business question.)
Maybe this example'll be better: how does Thrune do business with Hell?
Ah, contact other plane, the only spell more perilous than wish. How can I lower the risk of Int & Cha decrease (particularly rolling a 1)? Or of being lied to?

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James Jacobs wrote:Or it could be that what's "unsafe" for an average caster isn't quite as dangerous for one of the two Runelords who kept her seat from the beginning to the end of the Thassilonian Empire?AlgaeNymph wrote:Various methods ranging from plane shift to commune to contact other plane to gate to planar ally/planar binding spells to sending, etc., etc.James Jacobs wrote:AlgaeNymph wrote:Suppose I find out Lorthact's location and want to sell Eiseth the info. What's the safest means of contacting her directly?There is no "safe means" of contacting an evil demigod, and direct interactions with any demigod like this is best built out as a specific set of encounters or even the point of an entire adventure... AKA: It's up to your GM.Makes sense.
Which gets me wondering: how'd Sorshen do business with Nocticula then? plane shift to visit in person? Something else? "Unrevealed?"
(Disclaimer: this is not yet another sex question, this is a business question.)
Maybe this example'll be better: how does Thrune do business with Hell?
Not so much that as the more powerful you are at spellcasting, the safer you are and the less there is that can threaten you.

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Ah, contact other plane, the only spell more perilous than wish. How can I lower the risk of Int & Cha decrease (particularly rolling a 1)? Or of being lied to?
By casting dominate person on a spellcaster capable of casting contact other plane and ordering them to cast the spell to ask your questions.

Cyouni |

I recall Xanderghul was never invaded because no one dared to do so, since no one knew exactly how strong his armies/defenses were. Whatever stopped the other runelords from preparing spies with true seeing (or planar binding outsiders with constant true seeing, etc) to investigate before invading? Same thing with other methods of seeking information, such as the aforementioned contact other plane. Was it mainly just the significant additional effort and resources expended that stopped them from doing so compared to easier targets?

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What is and isn't out of place is different for every game. It sounds like in your game it wouldn't be out of place at all... and in fact, since the players expect/theorize it, having it actually happen can give your players a rush of "Ha! We're smart and figured it out!" which is a good thing. If I were you, I'd set this up so that the PCs actually learn about Nualia's return early and before hand, and explain to them "Since you suspected this, you are in a position to deal with new demon Nualia before she ascends to full power; had you not figured this out before hand, she would have come back MUCH more powerful and would have destroyed you. Well played!"
There's a risk that the Technic League could come after him and/or annex the city and so on, yes. That's sorta beyond the scope of the campaign though since the PCs never return to Torch as scripted. If your players are attached to Torch and want to...
It was more of them as players not really being sure how outsiders work in setting(they assumed previously that outsiders are reborn in setting like they are in d&d) and them being like "that would be cool thing to happen" rather than them in character suspecting it xD But yeah, thanks for advice!
Anyhoo, time for me to ask a lot of questions again, about both of campaigns I'm running(and more about annexing Torch too). Sorry about probably asking dumb questions again and thanks for answers as always. Getting advices on things I'm on fence about is always nice :'D
1) So that leadership Mark of Wrath rune Athroxis has that gets transferred to the high lady's killer... If players go to Ahtroxis first when picking which teleport circles try out first, does that mean the surviving Warriors of Wrath consider the new PC to be their new boss? Or since they are wrathful and murderious, would they just try to get the Mark for themselves?
2) I'd assume that "Mr. Mutt"(if he is restored to sanity) and alu demons are aware that he can't leave Iron Cages without turning to dust?
3) Is there any way to actually save "Mr. Mutt"(I forgot his actual name, sorry) besides the merciful end? I'd assume that some spell that would make him "younger" by 10,000 years would help, but I don't think anything like that exists that would be available for players.
4) So just to check, Jordimandus isn't too lazy to defend his area, but he is too lazy to save his own life if his heart is decaying? :D I guess that is explainable by 10,000 years of insanity
5) I'm assuming my player group would probably destroy it rather than selling it further(since they seem to have pretty low opinion of megalomaniacal wizards), but if they did sell Vraexaris' clone spell(that allowed him to live for 10,000 years), would it make sense for that to have big consenqueces besides some rich high level wizard greedily hoarding it?
6) So back to iron god. In case Technic League would annex Torch(few characters are from torch and one has local ties, so I would assume they would care if that happened), would torch fight back(not sure if they are capable of that) or would it happen essentially violentlessly? Like, is Technic Leagues' annexations in general massacres or people bowing down to overwhelming force?
7) For me to understand how big chance of that happening it is, is Torch's chances of getting annexed completely tied to whether they find out from Sanvil Trett or someone else of the habitat dome and other things in black hill caves? Or is it more tied to whether Torch's ,well, torch itself works?
8) One of players seem interested in trying to turn him into double agent for them, so I gotta figure out chances of Sanvil Trett betraying them. Like, he is such a snake that I'd assume he would be leaning towards betrayal, but on otherhand pcs are probably going to rob him(thats a lot of money they could use to buy adamantine stuff) so I'd imagine its hard for him to report on black hill caves' stuff(and on Khonnir Bane and other stuff) without reporting humiliation in process which would harm his promotion chances? Is Technic League in general really "stupid" evil in terms of agents being afraid to report about their failures due to punishments and such?

FallenDabus |

Hi James. As always, thank you with your time and patience in answering our questions!
Besides The King in Yellow, Lovecraft, and Strange Aeons, are there any good resources/references for information on Carcosa that you know of?

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I recall Xanderghul was never invaded because no one dared to do so, since no one knew exactly how strong his armies/defenses were. Whatever stopped the other runelords from preparing spies with true seeing (or planar binding outsiders with constant true seeing, etc) to investigate before invading? Same thing with other methods of seeking information, such as the aforementioned contact other plane. Was it mainly just the significant additional effort and resources expended that stopped them from doing so compared to easier targets?
Full details on runelord politics and how they interacted remain relatively vague at this point. There ABSOLUTELY was spying and the like, but now isn't the time or place to get into those details.

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Hi James. As always, thank you with your time and patience in answering our questions!
Besides The King in Yellow, Lovecraft, and Strange Aeons, are there any good resources/references for information on Carcosa that you know of?
Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu RPG and the adventures they've done. Not only have they featured adventures in Carcosa several times, but they've done several full campaigns involving Hastur and Carcosa ("Tatters of the King" and "Ripples from Carcosa" both come to mind). And then there's the first time they published the yellow sign in Kevin A. Ross's adventure in "The Great Old Ones" back in 1990 or thereabout.

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1) So that leadership Mark of Wrath rune Athroxis has that gets transferred to the high lady's killer... If players go to Ahtroxis first when picking which teleport circles try out first, does that mean the surviving Warriors of Wrath consider the new PC to be their new boss? Or since they are wrathful and murderious, would they just try to get the Mark for themselves?
2) I'd assume that "Mr. Mutt"(if he is restored to sanity) and alu demons are aware that he can't leave Iron Cages without turning to dust?
3) Is there any way to actually save "Mr. Mutt"(I forgot his actual name, sorry) besides the merciful end? I'd assume that some spell that would make him "younger" by 10,000 years would help, but I don't think anything like that exists that would be available for players.
4) So just to check, Jordimandus isn't too lazy to defend his area, but he is too lazy to save his own life if his heart is decaying? :D I guess that is explainable by 10,000 years of insanity
5) I'm assuming my player group would probably destroy it rather than selling it further(since they seem to have pretty low opinion of megalomaniacal wizards), but if they did sell Vraexaris' clone spell(that allowed him to live for 10,000 years), would it make sense for that to have big consenqueces besides some rich high level wizard greedily hoarding it?
6) So back to iron god. In case Technic League would annex Torch(few characters are from torch and one has local ties, so I would assume they would care if that happened), would torch fight back(not sure if they are capable of that) or would it happen essentially violentlessly? Like, is Technic Leagues' annexations in general massacres or people bowing down to overwhelming force?
7) For me to understand how big chance of that happening it is, is Torch's chances of getting annexed completely tied to whether they find out from Sanvil Trett or someone else of the habitat dome and other things in black hill caves? Or is it more tied to whether Torch's ,well, torch itself works?
8) One of players seem interested in trying to turn him into double agent for them, so I gotta figure out chances of Sanvil Trett betraying them. Like, he is such a snake that I'd assume he would be leaning towards betrayal, but on otherhand pcs are probably going to rob him(thats a lot of money they could use to buy adamantine stuff) so I'd imagine its hard for him to report on black hill caves' stuff(and on Khonnir Bane and other stuff) without reporting humiliation in process which would harm his promotion chances? Is Technic League in general really "stupid" evil in terms of agents being afraid to report about their failures due to punishments and such?
1) That's left to the GM to decide, but I'd suggest no... they'd try to kill the PC.
2) Nope, they aren't necessarily aware.
3) Miracle or wish. Or, I suppose, some powerful artifact or ritual that restores youth.
4) His sloth sustains him, as does his madness.
5) Whatever works best in your game. I'd go with it having strange and unexpected repercussions that end up with the PCs needing to undo the damage they did by letting that magic out into the world.
6) Up to you. Again, if you want it to become a distracting side-adventure that pulls the PCs away from the main plot of the campaign and thus force yourself to build a lot of new material, then I would go with a violent take over so that the PCs can come in and have adventures in opposing the event.
7) Again, it's up to you. As written, since the AP doesn't return to Torch and the PCs' big confrontation with the Technic League is in Starfall, then there's NOT a big chance of annexation, and it probably should NOT happen in the AP. If you want it to happen and thus are prepared to shift gears to the distraction, then it AUTOMATICALLY happens. It's 100% up to the GM.
8) Same here. If you want to focus on a new adventure involving saving Torch again, then Trett should betray the PCs. If you want them to keep going on the AP as written, Trett should be trustworthy and do a good job in holding back the Technic League. The Technic League isn't "stupid" evil as much as they are "very busy" evil. They've been in charge a long time. To them, the difference between annexing Torch today or doing it a year from now isn't much of a big deal for them...
AND AGAIN: It is up to you, whether or not you want to insert an entirely new adventure that might end up having the PCs level up in alternate ways than expected from the story. Obviously, since I outlined and developed the campaign the way I did, my preference would be that the annexation of Torch not happen because that runs too large a chance of distracting the PCs.

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Ah realized a question I forgot:
So there are few references to seven different colors of energy when opening portal to Runeforge. Does each sin magic school have specific color associated with them and if they do, what they are?
Nope. The colors are random. Thassilonian magic isn't associated with colors.

FallenDabus |

FallenDabus wrote:Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu RPG and the adventures they've done. Not only have they featured adventures in Carcosa several times, but they've done several full campaigns involving Hastur and Carcosa ("Tatters of the King" and "Ripples from Carcosa" both come to mind). And then there's the first time they published the yellow sign in Kevin A. Ross's adventure in "The Great Old Ones" back in 1990 or thereabout.Hi James. As always, thank you with your time and patience in answering our questions!
Besides The King in Yellow, Lovecraft, and Strange Aeons, are there any good resources/references for information on Carcosa that you know of?
Awesome, thank you! I will check those out.
A couple other questions.
If Xhamen-Dor's cult were to infiltrate modern Earth, would there be any particular institutions they would aim to infect?
I'm brainstorming outlines for Xhamen-Dor based campaigns and organizations for Pathfinder and Chronicles of Darkness. For thematic Xhamen-Dor based powers, I'm mostly concentrating on magic abilities that involve knowledge, the mind, and mind control. Do those seem appropriate and are there any glaring ones I have missed?

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If Xhamen-Dor's cult were to infiltrate modern Earth, would there be any particular institutions they would aim to infect?
I'm brainstorming outlines for Xhamen-Dor based campaigns and organizations for Pathfinder and Chronicles of Darkness. For thematic Xhamen-Dor based powers, I'm mostly concentrating on magic abilities that involve knowledge, the mind, and mind control. Do those seem appropriate and are there any glaring ones I have missed?
I invented Xhamen-Dor in a short story I wrote about 25 years ago, in which his star seed came to rest in a remote lake deep in the wilds of New Hampshire. A small town of cultists rose up in the region that worked to prevent his knowledge from spreading, but when a traveler stumbled into the town he messed it all up and became infected with Xhamen-Dor's knowledge only to be picked up and put into an asylum in a nearby city.
I then wrote a sequel to that story in which a psychologist came to interview that prisoner to find out more about his strange insanity and condition only to end up being the vector by which Xhamen-Dor's lore gets spread further out into the world.
So in my preference, his release into Earth would be accidental, linked to someone publishing an article or book about a strange psychological case of someone claiming to be an "avatar of the true God." Once that spreads, he doesn't really NEED a cult to do the work of spreading that knowledge. The Internet will do that job for him.