Hi James,
1) Can a Samsaran reincarnate in a body that is very physically different from his previous incarnation (such as belonging to a different sex) or do they tend to cling to some sort of self-identity? Is it possible for them to keep ties to a magical lineages like sorcerer bloodlines?
Wow... that was a strange freakout.
So.
Normally a samsaran reincarnates as a samsaran. That's "normal" for them, where as for, say, a human, "normal" is the soul traveling the River of Souls to the Boneyard for judgment.
Now and then, a human (or whatever) soul can sometimes be judged in a way that reincarnates it as a very physically different body, in which case the reincarnated soul does not retain memories at all of the past life.
In order for this to happen to a samsaran, its soul needs to NOT follow the norm and move on to the River of Souls and then get judged and NOT be sent on to become a petitioner but instead to be reincarnated as something else entirely. In which case that new life lives and dies and then its soul goes and gets judged normally.
So, long story short, it's possible for a samsaran to reincarnate as a different race, but it's very rare and has nothing really to do with the typical samsaran reincarnation thing.
Thank you, that helps a bunch with my reincarnation doubts!
Could a previously male samsaran (as of his last incarnation) naturally reincarnate in a female or interex samsaran body ?
Have you seen the new trailer for Pacific Rim 2?
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Have you seen the new trailer for Pacific Rim 2?
I have. It pretty much looks like it doubles down on all the parts of Pacific Rim that made it my most disappointing and least favorite Guillarmo del Toro movie ever.
I like kaiju movies to focus on the kaiju, not the robots. ONE giant humanoid robot champion is fine.
I like Ultraman a lot. I do not like Power Rangers. Pacific Rim is too much like Power Rangers to me.
Further, I like my kaiju to have personalities and iconic appearances. For whatever reason, in part due to the darkness and editing and monster design, the kaiju in Pacific Rim all felt kind of the same to me. They didn't have signature moves or individualized looks enough for me. Maybe because they put too many in there...
The great thing about Godzilla movies is that the kaiju are iconic and interesting and individuals. They're introduced slowly, one at a time, one movie at a time. And the movies are about humanity struggling against the kaiju and surviving against all odds, rather than humanity defeating the kaiju over and over.
I'll probably see Pacific Rim 2 at some point, but I'm VERY VERY VERY glad that Guillarmo del Toro didn't direct it, so that instead he could do "The Shape of Water."
Are there any video games coming out this year that you are interested in?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Are there any video games coming out this year that you are interested in?
Yup; lots.
The ones that come to mind immediately are:
Call of Cthulhu (the most anticipated of the year)
Metro: Exodus
Far Cry 5
Dark Souls remastered
State of Decay II
Pillars of Eternity II
Days Gone
Red Dead Redemption 2
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I'm updating Villains. Any particular thoughts you'd like to share?
As in, the old Bastion Press product?
Other than that it was my first solo credit for a published product and that a lot of design choices I made then would be made differently had I designed the book today, and that some of my homebrew stuff leaked in there and that if you see some familiar names, like Sandpoint, keep in mind that it's a VERY different version that isn't tied to Golarion.
Have fun updating it!
What are the top 5 Lovecraft books you wish they would make (good)movies for?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
What are the top 5 Lovecraft books you wish they would make (good)movies for?
If by "book" you mean "short story or novelette," then the top 5 I'd like to see made would be:
At the Mountains of Madness
Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Dunwich Horror
The Shadow Out of Time
The Thing on the Doorstep
There's several that have already been made into some quite good movies, of course, not limited to...
Re-Animator
From Beyond
The Shadow Over Innsmouth (as "Dagon")
The Call of Cthulhu
The Whisperer in Darkness
The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward (as "The Resurrected")
The Colour Out of Space
|
Creative Director
|
What are the top 5 Lovecraft books you wish they would make (good)movies for?I'm currently reading a collection of his stories between trips (I'm an Uber driver), so the answer to this is of interest to me as well. :)
Cool, but please keep the posts to this thread to questions to me, not replies to me or other posts.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Aside from Tar-Baphon who has the emaciated skeletal look of the classic D&D lich I've noticed a trend of many Paizo liches (including or maybe starting with Arazni) retaining a more "alive" look more akin to a vampire, is this true of lichdom in Golarion?
P.S. The Adventurer's Guide was AMAZING so thank you for all the work you put in to that project!
If you could become a cleric of any of Golarion's deities/demigods/etc. (you'd choose the deity) on Earth in the modern day, with all of the associated magical abilities, which one would you pick?
|
Creative Director
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
If you found yourself transported to Golarion, with no clear way back, what would you do?
For time and location sake, date is as of the latest books and in Absalom.*This question is based off the large number of "trap in the video game world" anime.
Probably breathe a sigh of relief and head on over to Sandpoint to move in.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Aside from Tar-Baphon who has the emaciated skeletal look of the classic D&D lich I've noticed a trend of many Paizo liches (including or maybe starting with Arazni) retaining a more "alive" look more akin to a vampire, is this true of lichdom in Golarion?
P.S. The Adventurer's Guide was AMAZING so thank you for all the work you put in to that project!
Each lich is unique in appearance. Some, like Tar-Baphon and Socorro, are skeletal. Some, like Zutha and Arazni, look almost alive but kinda rotten. It varies by lich.
AND thanks for the kind words on Adventurer's Guide. YAY!
James, got a few Agathion questions for ya, but will be breaking them up!
1) Do they remember their mortal lives at all and/or are they aware they had them?(Even if they don't remember them)
2) Are all Agathions aware of who their 'leader' is? Ie, do all Silvanshee know of Sixlife the Violet Fury?
|
Probably breathe a sigh of relief and head on over to Sandpoint to move in.If you found yourself transported to Golarion, with no clear way back, what would you do?
For time and location sake, date is as of the latest books and in Absalom.*This question is based off the large number of "trap in the video game world" anime.
Does that mean no upcoming adventure were something horrible and dangerous happens in Sandpoint? :D
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
James, got a few Agathion questions for ya, but will be breaking them up!
1) Do they remember their mortal lives at all and/or are they aware they had them?(Even if they don't remember them)
For ALL outsider races, agathions included, remembering mortal life is a rare, rare, rare thing. In almost all cases, they don't remember them. They aren't inherently aware that they had them either, but can certainly learn about that in time, given the opportunity to do so.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Does that mean no upcoming adventure were something horrible and dangerous happens in Sandpoint? :DProbably breathe a sigh of relief and head on over to Sandpoint to move in.If you found yourself transported to Golarion, with no clear way back, what would you do?
For time and location sake, date is as of the latest books and in Absalom.*This question is based off the large number of "trap in the video game world" anime.
No. Me magically transporting into Sandpoint and Paizo publishing another adventure set in Sandpoint are pretty separate things.
|
Creative Director
|
| 10 people marked this as a favorite. |
A spin-off of the "you find yourself magically brought to Golarion" thought experiment: Let's say that you know–for a fact–that you, and you alone, will be brought to Golarion one year from today with no way to stop it. What would you do to prepare?
Spend a year making sure that we publish enough content to cover everything I'd want in there before I go.
That's a consequence of the PCs getting VERY CLOSE to closing the Worldwound but failing, not an end game goal of Deskari. It's the price the world pays for heroes failing. In this scenario, where the PCs attempt to stop one thing and fail, they end up making things worse than if they hadn't tried at all in the first place.I'm not sure. Page 67 of City of Locusts said that if the heroes fail to close the Worldwound, demons start conquering the whole of Golarion, sacrificing and torturing any captured mortals in the process. So I thought demons are very eager to completely win the war as soon as possible and annihilate all humans. Am I missing something?
Can I assume that, at first Deskari only wanted to expand the Worldwound a little(conquering Mendev in the process), but after the heroes almost succeeded in closing the Worldwound, the Lord of the Locust Host was alarmed at the prospect of losing his foothold on the Material Plane and decided to conquer the whole world instead to prevent a second attempt to close the wound?
Okay, I know that I'm digging way into the past and that you probably haven't thought about Shackled City in years, but a question is bugging me and I can't seem to find an answer on my own.
Was Adimarcus ever assigned domains for his worshippers?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Can I assume that, at first Deskari only wanted to expand the Worldwound a little(conquering Mendev in the process), but after the heroes almost succeeded in closing the Worldwound, the Lord of the Locust Host was alarmed at the prospect of losing his foothold on the Material Plane and decided to conquer the whole world instead to prevent a second attempt to close the wound?
You can assume that. You can also assume he went on to do so to punish mortals for daring to try to oppose him.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Okay, I know that I'm digging way into the past and that you probably haven't thought about Shackled City in years, but a question is bugging me and I can't seem to find an answer on my own.
Was Adimarcus ever assigned domains for his worshippers?
Not that I remember.
Not that I remember.Okay, I know that I'm digging way into the past and that you probably haven't thought about Shackled City in years, but a question is bugging me and I can't seem to find an answer on my own.
Was Adimarcus ever assigned domains for his worshippers?
Do you have any thoughts on what would work for him beside the obligatory Chaos and Evil domains? (Again, long time ago, so I know that no is a fair answer)
What about unchain the bard, cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger?
I'm guessing that we should just give then more options to be more customizable, just as the unchained barbarian, rogue and (especially) the monk.
Also, what about an unchained cavalier? I've never seen anyone playing (or even thinking about) a cavalier...
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do you have any thoughts on what would work for him beside the obligatory Chaos and Evil domains? (Again, long time ago, so I know that no is a fair answer)Not that I remember.Okay, I know that I'm digging way into the past and that you probably haven't thought about Shackled City in years, but a question is bugging me and I can't seem to find an answer on my own.
Was Adimarcus ever assigned domains for his worshippers?
Adimarchus was a late addition to the demonic ranks, and not one that I really would have done had I been more in a position of decision making at the time (I think the fallen angel element works MUCH better for devils, not demons). So I don't really have much insight, and don't really recall the details of the D&D domains. If I was going to give him 4 domains for Pathfinder, I guess I'd do Chaos, Evil, Madness, and ... hmm. dunno
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What about unchain the bard, cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger?
I'm guessing that we should just give then more options to be more customizable, just as the unchained barbarian, rogue and (especially) the monk.
Also, what about an unchained cavalier? I've never seen anyone playing (or even thinking about) a cavalier...
Because we're happy with those classes as-is.
Devils, daemons, and demons are originally evil mortal souls. Then were qlippoth originally chaotic evil mortal souls as well?
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
Devils, daemons, and demons are originally evil mortal souls. Then were qlippoth originally chaotic evil mortal souls as well?
No. Qlippoth predate mortal life. Qlippoth predate pretty much ALL forms of life. They're older than proteans, even. Older than most of the gods. That's part of what makes them so alien and weird.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
What would the DCs be for knowing things about the core gods of Golarion? Is it just common knowledge?
E.g. their sacred symbol, favored colors and sacred animals.
DC 10 Knowledge (religion).
It's pretty much the most common knowledge you can get for that skill.
I found that once you said the spiritual energy of dead qlippoth recycles into the Abyss to fuel new transformations. Does that mean dead qlippoth would be reborn as new qlippoth almost instantly upon death, and would not be judged by Pharasma?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I found that once you said the spiritual energy of dead qlippoth recycles into the Abyss to fuel new transformations. Does that mean dead qlippoth would be reborn as new qlippoth almost instantly upon death, and would not be judged by Pharasma?
No. It means that dead qlippoth decay, body and soul (since those elements are the same thing, as with all outsiders) into the Abyss, and the Abyss "eats" that material as fuel. And uses that fuel to energize all the things the Abyss does, be it spawn new qlippoth or new demons or attack adventurers or whatever it is the Abyss wants to do.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What do qlippoth lords do with the souls of their worshipers?
Since said sinful souls are something they probably don't actually want...
|
What would the DCs be for knowing things about the core gods of Golarion? Is it just common knowledge?
E.g. their sacred symbol, favored colors and sacred animals.
DC 10 Knowledge (religion).
It's pretty much the most common knowledge you can get for that skill.
How would you grade the other deities in terms of common knowledge?
E.g. Would a human know about the dwarven/elven deities? Would all gnomes know The Eldest?
The number of demons will increase limitlessly. But it seems that qlippoth are not replenished with new mortal souls. Does that mean the number of qlippoth will more or less stay the same?
When did Jason Bulmahn become a superhuman medieval warrior?
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
What do qlippoth lords do with the souls of their worshipers?
Since said sinful souls are something they probably don't actually want...
Qlippoth worshipers become larvae that likely manifest in the deeper parts of the Abyss, and the qlippoth probably eat the larvae if the larvae are lucky. If not, it's something worse than any of us can imagine and certainly worse than we'd be able to talk about here on the boards or in print.
|
Creative Director
|
What would the DCs be for knowing things about the core gods of Golarion? Is it just common knowledge?
E.g. their sacred symbol, favored colors and sacred animals.
DC 10 Knowledge (religion).
It's pretty much the most common knowledge you can get for that skill.
How would you grade the other deities in terms of common knowledge?
E.g. Would a human know about the dwarven/elven deities? Would all gnomes know The Eldest?
By using the guidelines as given on page 101 of the core rulebook. DC 10 for common deity. DC 20 for uncommon deity. And if something fell in between, I'd pick a number in between that felt right.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The number of demons will increase limitlessly. But it seems that qlippoth are not replenished with new mortal souls. Does that mean the number of qlippoth will more or less stay the same?
Qlippoth are spawned by the Abyss or by other qlippoth. Their numbers are slowly increasing, but they're also always getting killed by adventurers or demons or whatever. We haven't said in print if the net result is an increase, stabilization, or a decrease, but my preference is that it is slowly increasing so that we won't run out of qlippoth to use in adventures.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
When did Jason Bulmahn become a superhuman medieval warrior?
You'd have to ask Jason. I don't track his extracurricular activities.