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What would you suggest be key elements in a good sci-fi story?
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What would you suggest be key elements in a good sci-fi story?
It needs to be somehow relatable to the person reading it, and a part of that is to introduce the new stuff in a way that makes sense and is understandable.
It needs to be compelling in what it's talking about and believable in how its science fiction elements work—not REALISTIC but logically stated. AKA: It needs to set up rules for its world and not break them.
It needs to include content that doesn't currently exist in the real world, otherwise it's just science.
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How would you modify that for writing a sci-fi campaign?
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I've got a player who brought an interesting character idea to my table and was looking for some insight.
How would reactions to a Half-Drow be in general society on Golarion? What about in particularly heavily populated/more "learned" places like Absalom? For a specific example.
On that note, are there any Drow settlements/Darklands entrances near Absalom? Something that would increase the likelihood of a Half-Drow popping up there.
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How would you modify that for writing a sci-fi campaign?
By going into much greater detail than I'd ever have to for a novel, since for a novel you only have to worry about what you want to include. For an RPG game, you have to worry about everything.
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I've got a player who brought an interesting character idea to my table and was looking for some insight.
How would reactions to a Half-Drow be in general society on Golarion? What about in particularly heavily populated/more "learned" places like Absalom? For a specific example.
On that note, are there any Drow settlements/Darklands entrances near Absalom? Something that would increase the likelihood of a Half-Drow popping up there.
Depends entirely on the location, but in most cases folks on the surface would likely not recognize a half-drow for a half-drow. There are no drow settlements or significant entrances to the Darklands near Absalom, since Earthfall obliterated the major Darklands areas and connections in that area. There's a microcosom of underground stuff below the area, but it's not directly attached to the rest of the Darklands by major routes.
The reason a half-drow would show up in Absalom is the same as anything else—it's the biggest city in the region and an incredibly diverse one, which draws folks from all over. Darklands included.
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How would you modify that for writing a sci-fi campaign?By going into much greater detail than I'd ever have to for a novel, since for a novel you only have to worry about what you want to include. For an RPG game, you have to worry about everything.
Do you have a template you follow to keep track of everything, and if it's not proprietary, would you share it?
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Do you have a template you follow to keep track of everything, and if it's not proprietary, would you share it?How would you modify that for writing a sci-fi campaign?By going into much greater detail than I'd ever have to for a novel, since for a novel you only have to worry about what you want to include. For an RPG game, you have to worry about everything.
I don't have a template that I follow. And in fact, I've never outlined a sci-fi novel or written one. I have been working on a d20 post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror game called Unspeakable Futures for almost 20 years now, but that currently exists as a bunch of folders and files on my computer around a large but still-incomplete "core rulebook" document.
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I meant more when you design/write a game campaign. Do you use one for that?
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Impressive. How do you keep all the details straight?
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Impressive. How do you keep all the details straight?
I don't.
I just do the best I can. It helps if you've been working on a single setting for most of your life.
AKA: I guess it just boils down to practice makes perfect. Or in this case, practice APPROACHES perfect.
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I have a sci-fi campaign I've been working on for a while (since 2014) and haven't yet played in it yet. Every time my group and I get close to playing a game with it, I realize there's more information I need to flush out before I can run.
I kind of get into a fear-based writer's block, intimidated by the sheer amount of information I need to solidify...
Did you run into this as well? How do you get past it?
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I have a sci-fi campaign I've been working on for a while (since 2014) and haven't yet played in it yet. Every time my group and I get close to playing a game with it, I realize there's more information I need to flush out before I can run.
I kind of get into a fear-based writer's block, intimidated by the sheer amount of information I need to solidify...Did you run into this as well? How do you get past it?
I run into it all the time. I get past it by turning my attention to other things and being patient. Inspiration and the drive to create is not a constant source. It can be used up and takes time to replenish.
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If/when the Pathfinder Tales line returns, would you be interested in writing a fiction novel, provided you have time?
And even if you think you'll never have time, what would your dream novel be?
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If/when the Pathfinder Tales line returns, would you be interested in writing a fiction novel, provided you have time?
And even if you think you'll never have time, what would your dream novel be?
I've been interested in writing a novel for the line from the very start, and have had two different novels on the edge of being given the go code, but for various reasons none of the three never happened. One was going to involve the Red Mantis and the city of Vyre, and one was going to be about Merisiel. I've a third one that's been percolating in my head about a war between Kyonin and Tanglebriar.
At this point, I'm probably no longer interested, since I'm kinda not ready to get invested in a potential novel only to have things fall apart for reasons beyond my control, combined with a growing desire to be able to write the story I want and retain all the rights for myself.
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I believe I asked this question before, but I feel this concern merits clarification. I suspect you will too.
Petitioners in Nirvana get turned into (sapient) animals, yes? What happens to worshipers of Arshea? While there's something to be said for morphological variety, I don't think most of them want to be feralform furries.
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Petitioners in Nirvana get turned into (sapient) animals, yes? What happens to worshipers of Arshea?
If you're a petitioner in Nirvana, you are a sapient animal until you're ascended to another form of outsider. There aren't multiple types of petitioners on any single outer plane.
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Hi JJ, glad to see you're back to the forums!
Have you seen Travel channel's "Myth or Monster"? In it, Patrick Rothfuss presents cryptozoids, starting with the Mothman :D
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Hello James, I hope everything is going well with you...
I have not heard anything in a while and was wondering how Unspeakable Futures is coming along?
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I have not heard anything in a while and was wondering how Unspeakable Futures is coming along?
Nothing of note. I ran an Unspeakable Futures game last Paizocon, and I've transferred what I've written into a master document in Scrivener, but I haven't actually worked on expanding the game or design work on it for years. It's not really a significant priority for me at this point, but it remains lurking in the wings in the event that there are big life changes.
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I have not heard anything in a while and was wondering how Unspeakable Futures is coming along?Nothing of note. I ran an Unspeakable Futures game last Paizocon, and I've transferred what I've written into a master document in Scrivener, but I haven't actually worked on expanding the game or design work on it for years. It's not really a significant priority for me at this point, but it remains lurking in the wings in the event that there are big life changes.
James, do you think about releasing this via kickstarter? Or do you think it would be a full time job?
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How do you determine how much detail is necessary when planning a campaign?
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James, do you think about releasing this via kickstarter? Or do you think it would be a full time job?I have not heard anything in a while and was wondering how Unspeakable Futures is coming along?Nothing of note. I ran an Unspeakable Futures game last Paizocon, and I've transferred what I've written into a master document in Scrivener, but I haven't actually worked on expanding the game or design work on it for years. It's not really a significant priority for me at this point, but it remains lurking in the wings in the event that there are big life changes.
That's like several full time jobs. Project manager, writer, developer, art director, artist(s), editor...
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How do you determine how much detail is necessary when planning a campaign?
Half guesswork, half "am I interested in writing about this topic at all in the first place"?
I don't have a "magic bullet" that I use to create campaigns. My best advice for someone who wants to create a campaign of their own is to read a LOT of published campaign settings, and even MORE novels and movies in the genre of choice, and don't be afraid of borrowing things to help fill out your game.
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James do your arcane casters use staffs? Do you think that they are over priced? I don't mind their price so much as they only have 10 charges in a standard staff. In RPG system that I cut my teeth in staffs had 50 charges and wands had a max of 10 charges some unique wands had 50 charges but they were very rare. I do really like that staffs use the casters casting stat do determine the DC.
Until recently I never played full arcane casters but I started playing an arcnist and they have to be one of the best class that Paizo has come out with. I teamed up with a friend who was a blaster Sorc and the DM called us the legion of boom.
At first I thought that the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars is much more powerful than the Ironfang Legion. But I changed my mind. Ironfang Legion is the main opponent of an adventure path, and its leader Azaersi is a 20th level character, which means she compares with other final bosses like Karzoug. And the force of Karzoug in Rise of the Runelords would be more powerful than the mere horde of goblinoids. So logically the Ironfang Legion is more powerful than the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars, right? Well, at least the legion can surpass the Kingdom of Zog, maybe?
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At first I thought that the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars is much more powerful than the Ironfang Legion. But I changed my mind. Ironfang Legion is the main opponent of an adventure path, and its leader Azaersi is a 20th level character, which means she compares with other final bosses like Karzoug. And the force of Karzoug in Rise of the Runelords would be more powerful than the mere horde of goblinoids. So logically the Ironfang Legion is more powerful than the goblinoid army in the Goblinblood Wars, right? Well, at least the legion can surpass the Kingdom of Zog, maybe?
By that logic, every organization that appears in an Adventure Path is equally powerful. Which means that if some day we do an Adventure Path about the goblinoid army of the Goblinblood Wars, it'll be equally powerful then. We don't really nail those things down until we get to the stories we want to tell.
To me, whether one group is as or more or less powerful than another is not the interesting part.
The interesting part is seeing the story about a specific group, not a comparison.
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Dear James Jacobs,
If you had the chance to run a game or a campaign again (from your past) what would it be? [It does not have to be Pathfinder!]
Return of the Runelords is the last of the Thassilonian trilogy. But I found out that you will not write any of it. You also didn't participate in Strange Aeons, either. It seems weird, considering the fact that you are the biggest fan of Thassilon and Mythos in Paizo. Don't you want to write one of those adventure books yourself?
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Return of the Runelords is the last of the Thassilonian trilogy. But I found out that you will not write any of it. You also didn't participate in Strange Aeons, either. It seems weird, considering the fact that you are the biggest fan of Thassilon and Mythos in Paizo. Don't you want to write one of those adventure books yourself?
I'm developing the entirety of Return of the Runelords, which means that a lot of the content folks will be reading WILL be my words. I also outlined both it and Strange Aeons, so even though I'm not one of the six authors, the story is very much one I created.
As for Strange Aeons, I was originally going to develop it, but I got shifted over to work on Curse of the Crimson Throne instead. That said, I was hardly not-involved in that one—I wrote most of the back matter and many of the monsters for Strange Aeons.
You developed Rise of the Runelords and also wrote Burnt Offerings simultaneously. So I thought you would write one of the books of Return of the Runelords. Did you choose not to write one yourself because developing and writing simultaneously would be very busy and hard? I ask this because it seems that you stopped writing adventure path books yourself and I wished you would write an adventure path book again.
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You developed Rise of the Runelords and also wrote Burnt Offerings simultaneously. So I thought you would write one of the books of Return of the Runelords. Did you choose not to write one yourself because developing and writing simultaneously would be very busy and hard? I ask this because it seems that you stopped writing adventure path books yourself and I wished you would write an adventure path book again.
I chose not to write one because I'm writing something else for Paizo at this time that hasn't yet been announced, and lately I've been trying hard not to over-commit on the writing side of things.
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If a race of aliens showed up and integrated into society, would paizo turn them into a playable race?
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Oh definitely, but I'm talking about after they're all nice and integrated and it might not be too out there to have one sitting at your table on game night.
We visited Minderhal's Forge in Giantslayer. Will we finally visit Minderhal's Anvil in Varisia in Return of the Runelords?
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If a race of aliens showed up and integrated into society, would paizo turn them into a playable race?As in aliens showing up in the real world? I suspect if that happened we'd have more on our mind than game design for a long time...
Or, if the aliens showed up to play Pathfinder in the first place, do you think your job would become more interesting? :P
When will Paizo officially announce the next adventure path after Return of the Runelords? Should I wait until next year?
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Seen any movies lately and if so what did you think?
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James, I have a question on divine casters and healing the general populace. Do nations that have a large concentration of clergy have a lower death rate from disease and death from infection and deformities from broken bones due to the divine casters looking after their flocks and providing them with the gifts from the gods.
For myself my divine casters when not off adventuring do look after their flocks ensuring that they are healthy and hale they even work with the midwives in case the mothers need looking after if their any complcations from bringing new members of the community into the world.
do you consider this the norm? Also my divine casters take the max ranks in Heal to help them care for their flocks.
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When will Paizo officially announce the next adventure path after Return of the Runelords? Should I wait until next year?
We announce August Adventure Paths during the previous Gen Con, and February Adventure Paths during the previous Paizocon. So... the next Adventure Path after Return of the Runelords will be announced during Paizocon 2018.
AKA You don't have a choice but to wait until next year. :-P
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Seen any movies lately and if so what did you think?
Blade Runner 2049 was brilliant.
Happy Death Day was surprisingly fun and charming.Geostorm was lame, but did have a few fun special effects scenes of tsunamis which is what I went to see in the first place.
The Foreigner was amusing but not as good as I wanted it to be.
Jigsaw was meh.
It Stains the Sands Red was pretty good but had a plot development that was lazy and terrible.
Creep 2 was astoundingly great.
Aliens: Zone of Silence was fine, but was overhyped for me.
Colossal was lots of fun.
Gerald's Game was incredible.
Raw was great.
Stranger Things 2 was AWESOME.
Sleight was meh.
Ghost House was okay.