
Douglas Muir 406 |
So no... there's not anything I'm comfortable discussing in public about specific elements of the game or the setting that I wish had been done differently.
Okay, that makes sense. Thank you.
Then let me narrow this down: what in your personal creative process has changed since the dawn of Pathfinder? Not asking for specifics of what's good or bad that you created. More like, if you could go back and give advice to the James Jacobs who was working on PFRPG in 2008, what advice about the /process/ would you give?
Doug M.

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Dear Mister Jacobs,
So when you said beyond a Heretic, do you mean like apostate or something else?
Also would they be considered a FORMER Hellknight if they hadn't embraced the Elder Mythos ideology? (I apologize for making this a two question post but I needed clarification on both.)
A heretic still gets spells from their deity if they're a cleric, and follows some shred or permutation of that deity/religion in a weird and unorthodox way, but still worships. The Elder Mythos is so anti-law/order that you aren't even a heretic if you try to worship them and still be a Hellknight.
Anything that makes you not follow the law and rules makes you a former Hellknight.

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Glad to see this thread is alive once again!
I saw that you mentioned Nocticula's possible redemption/ascension would be a big standalone adventure rather than an Adventure Path now, does that change mean we're closer to seeing it finally happen?
No, alas.
It's probably not gonna even be an adventure at this point, alas. It'll probably happen quietly and behind the scenes.

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James Jacobs wrote:So no... there's not anything I'm comfortable discussing in public about specific elements of the game or the setting that I wish had been done differently.
Okay, that makes sense. Thank you.
Then let me narrow this down: what in your personal creative process has changed since the dawn of Pathfinder? Not asking for specifics of what's good or bad that you created. More like, if you could go back and give advice to the James Jacobs who was working on PFRPG in 2008, what advice about the /process/ would you give?
Doug M.
That's a decade of work. I can't sum that up quickly, but the most important change is the constant pursuit to make the game more open, diverse, and welcoming to as many players as possible while still presenting compelling and often edgy stories.
If I were to give advice to the 2008 James Jacobs, it would be "Lose weight now, not later."

Desril |

Desril wrote:Glad to see this thread is alive once again!
I saw that you mentioned Nocticula's possible redemption/ascension would be a big standalone adventure rather than an Adventure Path now, does that change mean we're closer to seeing it finally happen?
No, alas.
It's probably not gonna even be an adventure at this point, alas. It'll probably happen quietly and behind the scenes.
Ah, that's unfortunate, I've been looking forward to that adventure for 5 years now. Still, I'd love to see it happen in general, even if it's behind the scenes!

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Hi Mr. Jacobs,
In what religion did most of the Lawful Evil divine spell casters that served Aroden end up after he died?
Thanks.
Asmodeus. As did a fair number of his lawful neutral ones and some of his lawful good ones. Turns out that not everyone is able to withstand the devastation of their deity's death and come out the other side a good person.

Bellona |

I've not read "People of the Wastes" so I have no idea what a "nail of blood" is or does; I suggest asking this question in the "People of the Wastes" product thread so folks can FAQ it and so you can get feedback from those who have read the book and perhaps from its authors or developers.
Just a general comment on the Product Discussion threads: it's not possible to mark a post on those threads as being FAQ-worthy.
So either one has has to post on the specific Product Discussion thread and hope that the relevant designer/developer notices and answers it (which is increasingly unlikely the older the product is), or start up a new thread - most likely in the Rules Question sub-forum unless it's lore-related - and hope that eventually enough interest is garnered that the designers answer it in the official FAQ.
(And I still haven't figured out the precise method used by Paizo to decide which rules questions get answered. Is it the number of people who hit the OP's FAQ button, the number of people who post in the thread agreeing that it needs a FAQ, or the number of people who post in the thread and hit their own post's FAQ button?)

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James Jacobs wrote:I've not read "People of the Wastes" so I have no idea what a "nail of blood" is or does; I suggest asking this question in the "People of the Wastes" product thread so folks can FAQ it and so you can get feedback from those who have read the book and perhaps from its authors or developers.
Just a general comment on the Product Discussion threads: it's not possible to mark a post on those threads as being FAQ-worthy.
So either one has has to post on the specific Product Discussion thread and hope that the relevant designer/developer notices and answers it (which is increasingly unlikely the older the product is), or start up a new thread - most likely in the Rules Question sub-forum unless it's lore-related - and hope that eventually enough interest is garnered that the designers answer it in the official FAQ.
(And I still haven't figured out the precise method used by Paizo to decide which rules questions get answered. Is it the number of people who hit the OP's FAQ button, the number of people who post in the thread agreeing that it needs a FAQ, or the number of people who post in the thread and hit their own post's FAQ button?)
Then post in the thread that seems most appropriate for your question, I guess. This thread is not the right place for rules questions, because I don't answer rules questions for the reasons I've already cited.
AND it's why I think that folks need to re-train to consult their GM first. The GM for your table should always be the first place to go for questions, since your GM has a vested interest in making sure the rule interpretations that work best for that table are cleared up. If your GM isn't comfortable answering rules questions or if you're the GM or both, then the best bet is to ask around on the forums for advice from others and to simply make decisions; let your players know that if a decision ends up being the wrong one that as the GM you can adjust as needed.
The game is meant to be fun to play, and as something for you and your friends to share stories and create stories together. Don't let the rules get in the way of that, and don't worry about being "wrong" if it's fun.

AlgaeNymph |

Have you ever seen Overlord? Short version: a MMORPG player sticks around for the game's final minutes...then finds himself stuck in the game. He's L100 in a world where 30 is considered legendary, and almost everyone else isn't even 20; the only characters who have a chance against him are his own loyal minions. The series is titled such for a reason. Would you be interested?

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Have you ever seen Overlord? Short version: a MMORPG player sticks around for the game's final minutes...then finds himself stuck in the game. He's L100 in a world where 30 is considered legendary, and almost everyone else isn't even 20; the only characters who have a chance against him are his own loyal minions. The series is titled such for a reason. Would you be interested?
Haven't seen it. I barely watch any anime at all, though, so not really interested.

Nexo |

Hi JJ, I wanted to ask a simple question.
If I cast a spell like Planar Binding, if the outsider were to die, would the body remain?
I ask this question because in the summoning spells it says clearly that if the creature reaches zero it is instantly sent back, while the calling spells do not say anything about the body.
I also ask this to know a necromancer, in case, he could use the corpse to animate it (with animate dead) or cast "create undead" using the corpse of the outside.
Thanks in advance

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OSR gaming delivers a rather different tabletop experience from PFRPG. Do you see anything good/fun/useful there?
(Personal answer: overall I prefer PFRPG, but OSR allows for a higher level of pure wackiness, and that can be crazy fun sometimes.)
Diversity in games is good for gaming.

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Hi JJ, I wanted to ask a simple question.
If I cast a spell like Planar Binding, if the outsider were to die, would the body remain?
I ask this question because in the summoning spells it says clearly that if the creature reaches zero it is instantly sent back, while the calling spells do not say anything about the body.
I also ask this to know a necromancer, in case, he could use the corpse to animate it (with animate dead) or cast "create undead" using the corpse of the outside.
Thanks in advance
Yes the body remains.

Cole Deschain |

So, I just saw Annihilation (wonderful movie, everyone in the peanut gallery should go give it a shot), and my question:

Nexo |

Nexo wrote:Yes the body remains.Hi JJ, I wanted to ask a simple question.
If I cast a spell like Planar Binding, if the outsider were to die, would the body remain?
I ask this question because in the summoning spells it says clearly that if the creature reaches zero it is instantly sent back, while the calling spells do not say anything about the body.
I also ask this to know a necromancer, in case, he could use the corpse to animate it (with animate dead) or cast "create undead" using the corpse of the outside.
Thanks in advance
forgive me, but I read about the Mummy's Mask adventure, in the sixth book of the Adventure Path, called "The Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh" (pag 71), there is a paragraph that questions your answer.
------------------------------------------
Upon an outsider's destruction - whether it be a petitioner aturally merging with a plane or the violent destruction of another planar native - its quintessence returns to its home plane. This transference of energies might be an immediate or a gradual process, depending on where the being's existence ended. Beings of specific alignments destroyed away from their home planes have their energy released into the multiverse. While such energy gravitates toward the properly aligned plane, more often then not it becomes lost in the Maelstrom. In the cases of those whose existence as an outsider ends on a plane of matching alignment, its quintessence infuses the plane in a manner similar to corpses on the Material Plane returning their nutrients to the soil. In this way, the plane is supplied with new quintessence, along with new ideas and beliefs from the evolving multiplanar zeitgeist.
------------------------------------------
Whereas the outsiders have no duality of body and soul (so it is written on the Bestiary 1).
Taking the quoted paragraph would seem to imply that the body of the exterior does not remain after their death.
Is it just my impression or does the paragraph mentioned question your answer?

Oyabun_Kyuubi |

Hey ya James I have a question for ya well more of a clarification needed as I have a couple possible answers.
Previous thread: Hardness of Silkweave?
So I am currently making a character in Pathfinder that wears a Spider-silk Bodysuit
Looking in The special materials section the closest thing I can find that matches the description of Spider-silk is Silkweave
Unfortunately in both there and Damaging and breaking objects there is nothing stating a Hardness of Silkweave armors or things made of Alchemically treated spider silk.
Answer 1: Zarius Stated: I'd fall back to the hardness/HP of leather or cloth. There's a 3pp (Silk, Aranea) that has stats, though... 5 HP per inch, 0 hardness. Which is fair, since it's 2.5x the HP of cloth, but easier to damage than leather.
Answer 2: Dark Midian Stated: The trouble though is that it specifically says that silkweave is super durable. I would also recommend going with the rules for leather for the hardness and HP.
With a further Reply from Graystone: I'd go a bit further than that once you take into account the price of the armor [850gp]: for me that puts it up there with Darkleaf Cloth [750gp + armor cost] and that's 20 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10. Note that the description of darkleaf says it's "tough as cured hide", and hide has 5hp/inch and 2 hardness so the number are greatly skewed towards the special materials.
So my question I guess is Which of these if Either are correct for the hardness of Silkweave and or Spider-Silk Bodysuit? Thanks for your time!

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So, I just saw Annihilation (wonderful movie, everyone in the peanut gallery should go give it a shot), and my question:
** spoiler omitted **
It's hard to approach that without involving the book for me...
In the movie, she's less interesting due to some changes between the book and the movie. In the movie, I think the physicist is the most interesting of her teammates due to the theory about super-refraction she comes up with, if nothing else.

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James Jacobs wrote:Nexo wrote:Yes the body remains.Hi JJ, I wanted to ask a simple question.
If I cast a spell like Planar Binding, if the outsider were to die, would the body remain?
I ask this question because in the summoning spells it says clearly that if the creature reaches zero it is instantly sent back, while the calling spells do not say anything about the body.
I also ask this to know a necromancer, in case, he could use the corpse to animate it (with animate dead) or cast "create undead" using the corpse of the outside.
Thanks in advance
forgive me, but I read about the Mummy's Mask adventure, in the sixth book of the Adventure Path, called "The Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh" (pag 71), there is a paragraph that questions your answer.
------------------------------------------
Upon an outsider's destruction - whether it be a petitioner aturally merging with a plane or the violent destruction of another planar native - its quintessence returns to its home plane. This transference of energies might be an immediate or a gradual process, depending on where the being's existence ended. Beings of specific alignments destroyed away from their home planes have their energy released into the multiverse. While such energy gravitates toward the properly aligned plane, more often then not it becomes lost in the Maelstrom. In the cases of those whose existence as an outsider ends on a plane of matching alignment, its quintessence infuses the plane in a manner similar to corpses on the Material Plane returning their nutrients to the soil. In this way, the plane is supplied with new quintessence, along with new ideas and beliefs from the evolving multiplanar zeitgeist.
------------------------------------------Whereas the outsiders have no duality of body and soul (so it is written on the Bestiary 1).
Taking the quoted paragraph would seem to imply that the body of the exterior does not remain after their death.
Is it just my impression or does the...
That's talking mostly about what happens to an outsider when it dies on an outer plane, where the quintessence that makes up its body can revert back to the land in an analogous way to how creatures on the Material Plane rot and decay and go back to the land. How FAST this happens vaires. It might take eons. It might be instant, as in the case of outsiders like balors that have death throes.
This topic is discussed in more detail in Planar Adventures, which reprints and clarifies much of the article you quote (which has some holes in it; particularly in discussing what happens when a soul is sent somewhere other than the outer planes—there are deities on the elemental planes and Shadow plane and Material Plane and most other planes with the exception of the energy planes after all).

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Hey ya James I have a question for ya well more of a clarification needed as I have a couple possible answers.
Previous thread: Hardness of Silkweave?
So I am currently making a character in Pathfinder that wears a Spider-silk Bodysuit
Looking in The special materials section the closest thing I can find that matches the description of Spider-silk is Silkweave
Unfortunately in both there and Damaging and breaking objects there is nothing stating a Hardness of Silkweave armors or things made of Alchemically treated spider silk.
Answer 1: Zarius Stated: I'd fall back to the hardness/HP of leather or cloth. There's a 3pp (Silk, Aranea) that has stats, though... 5 HP per inch, 0 hardness. Which is fair, since it's 2.5x the HP of cloth, but easier to damage than leather.
Answer 2: Dark Midian Stated: The trouble though is that it specifically says that silkweave is super durable. I would also recommend going with the rules for leather for the hardness and HP.
With a further Reply from Graystone: I'd go a bit further than that once you take into account the price of the armor [850gp]: for me that puts it up there with Darkleaf Cloth [750gp + armor cost] and that's 20 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10. Note that the description of darkleaf says it's "tough as cured hide", and hide has 5hp/inch and 2 hardness so the number are greatly skewed towards the special materials.
So my question I guess is Which of these if Either are correct for the hardness of Silkweave and or Spider-Silk Bodysuit? Thanks for your time!
Please don't make simple questions into complicated walls of text.
And beyond this, this is a rules question and should be asked in the rules forum. I'm honestly not even sure what "silkweave" is or where you're getting it from or what the "previous thread" is that you're talking about. Remember, I interact with literally tens of thousands of questions here, and generally do so with a "fire and forget" mentality. I don't memorize this thread's contents.
So... My response:
Ask questions simply, cite what book you're talking about it it's not the Core Rulebook, and ask rules questions on the proper forums where you can FAQ the questions.

Oyabun_Kyuubi |

Oyabun_Kyuubi wrote:Hey ya James I have a question for ya well more of a clarification needed as I have a couple possible answers.
Previous thread: Hardness of Silkweave?
So I am currently making a character in Pathfinder that wears a Spider-silk Bodysuit
Looking in The special materials section the closest thing I can find that matches the description of Spider-silk is Silkweave
Unfortunately in both there and Damaging and breaking objects there is nothing stating a Hardness of Silkweave armors or things made of Alchemically treated spider silk.
Answer 1: Zarius Stated: I'd fall back to the hardness/HP of leather or cloth. There's a 3pp (Silk, Aranea) that has stats, though... 5 HP per inch, 0 hardness. Which is fair, since it's 2.5x the HP of cloth, but easier to damage than leather.
Answer 2: Dark Midian Stated: The trouble though is that it specifically says that silkweave is super durable. I would also recommend going with the rules for leather for the hardness and HP.
With a further Reply from Graystone: I'd go a bit further than that once you take into account the price of the armor [850gp]: for me that puts it up there with Darkleaf Cloth [750gp + armor cost] and that's 20 hit points per inch of thickness and hardness 10. Note that the description of darkleaf says it's "tough as cured hide", and hide has 5hp/inch and 2 hardness so the number are greatly skewed towards the special materials.
So my question I guess is Which of these if Either are correct for the hardness of Silkweave and or Spider-Silk Bodysuit? Thanks for your time!
Please don't make simple questions into complicated walls of text.
And beyond this, this is a rules question and should be asked in the rules forum. I'm honestly not even sure what "silkweave" is or where you're getting it from or what the "previous thread" is that you're talking about. Remember, I interact with literally tens of thousands of questions here, and generally do so with a "fire and forget" mentality. I don't memorize...
My apologies i was linked to here by my thread in the rules forum. Sorry for bothering.

The Minis Maniac |

Dear Mr. Jacobs.
I am trying to homebrew a system to deal with currency weight. I thought the idea of arcane marked gems regulated by the church of Abadar for large currency denominations. Do you think the church would have the ability to make a permanent arcane mark on a huge amount of gemstones of varying values (fraud protection and value authentification), and the ability to regulate it?

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Dear Mr. Jacobs.
I am trying to homebrew a system to deal with currency weight. I thought the idea of arcane marked gems regulated by the church of Abadar for large currency denominations. Do you think the church would have the ability to make a permanent arcane mark on a huge amount of gemstones of varying values (fraud protection and value authentification), and the ability to regulate it?
I do think that's possible, but it's also important to keep in mind that some things overcomplicate game play.

Ragash |

Hi Mr. Jacobs
i've a question about "Immediate Actions"
a creature flat-footed cannot takes immediate action, cause it cannot "react to a blow".
so a creature has to be able to "see" an enemy to beneficiate from an immediate action?
for example:
>No surprise/first round<
a rogue using stealth (beating the mage perception) shoot a dart from his crossbow to the mage for a sneak attack
would the mage be allowed to use "Emergency Force Sphere" to interrupt the attack?
Thank you, and keep up with the great work!