Creative Director
|
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
If a player suspects that an NPC (in human form) is a lycanthrope, would you give the PC a Knowledge roll to verify it or just make them go with their hunch?
I would absolutely give them a Knowledge check to figure it out... and would allow either Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (local). The whole element of lycanthropes having "tells" is absolutely an established part of tradition—werewolves having weird finger lengths, for example. I'd probably set the DC to notice the truth at 20 + the creature's CR, so that it's tough for lower level folks to make.
Making players go with their hunches in cases like this is kind of tricky and fraught, since there's a disconnect between what a character knows and perceives about the world around them and what the player does. The player is not only likely NOT as observant as a heroic persona in the game (in the same way most players aren't as good at swordfighting or trap dectecting or spellcasting), so robbing the character of the chance to benefit from a skill they're potentially good at is bad for the game. Furthermore, the player's only window into the setting is via you, the GM. They have only what you say to go on, and if you accidentally put the wrong inflection on the wrong word, or make a mistake and forget to mention something, or give an unintended clue with your body language, you can cause a player to misunderstand the situation in-world. Making players go with their hunches is fraught, as a result.
That said, the player still has to voice their suspicion! They don't have to ask directly to make a Knowledge check to try to notice a lycanthrope's affliction, but if you as the GM get the idea that they're suspicious and doing something to try to figure it out, feel free to ask them to make the roll. Or if you don't want to give too much away, roll for them in secret.
Given your earlier answers, does this mean that you do not see a GM as an artist akin to a painter or movie director/producer, and therefore some can attain a more professional level of skill worthy of pay to experience, compared to a hobbyist? (much like you might pay to see Queen in concert, despite having a few friends who play instruments in their garage)
Also, does this mean that you see pathfinder as somehow an entirely different game from other RPGs rather than roleplay being a singular thing with rules choice being a layer added on top, much like a movie can have a story which is independant from the movie's art style?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Given your earlier answers, does this mean that you do not see a GM as an artist akin to a painter or movie director/producer, and therefore some can attain a more professional level of skill worthy of pay to experience, compared to a hobbyist? (much like you might pay to see Queen in concert, despite having a few friends who play instruments in their garage)
Also, does this mean that you see pathfinder as somehow an entirely different game from other RPGs rather than roleplay being a singular thing with rules choice being a layer added on top, much like a movie can have a story which is independant from the movie's art style?
I see it as a game, first and foremost; something to do to relax and have fun with friends. Once it becomes competitive or a job, it loses some of that fun.
Sorry, I did forget the one question rule, so here is the other,
Also, does this mean that you see pathfinder as somehow an entirely different game from other RPGs rather than roleplay being a singular thing with rules choice being a layer added on top, much like a movie can have a story which is independant from the movie's art style?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sorry, I did forget the one question rule, so here is the other,
Also, does this mean that you see pathfinder as somehow an entirely different game from other RPGs rather than roleplay being a singular thing with rules choice being a layer added on top, much like a movie can have a story which is independant from the movie's art style?
No.
I've been thinking about Jorgenfist, and how the Pathfinder Society would love to have it, and I was wondering: do we see what's become of it in Return of the Runelords?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hi, James. I am running a game featuring Tawil at'Umr. Just found out he had no DR in his stats in bestiary 6. Is this a mistake, or made so deliberately? That would make him the only demigod without a DR (please correct me if I am wrong). Thank you very much!
Yeah, that's an error. He has DR 20/epic and lawful.
|
Creative Director
|
| 13 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hmmm... that last post is a perfect metaphor for my week. I made a mistake typing "error" in an attempt to clear up an error, and then when I tried to correct my mistake spelling error it duplicate posted instead of correcting it, and then someone removed the corrected post...
Wonder if the powers that be would approve my vacation request for this weekend? Feels like a good time to go hide in the woods for a few days.
|
Managing Developer
|
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hmmm... that last post is a perfect metaphor for my week. I made a mistake typing "error" in an attempt to clear up an error, and then when I tried to correct my mistake spelling error it duplicate posted instead of correcting it, and then someone removed the corrected post...
Wonder if the powers that be would approve my vacation request for this weekend? Feels like a good time to go hide in the woods for a few days.
|
James I just saw your 5min Owlcat / Kingmaker video game interview on Facebook. First: you clean up good Sir. Second: I'm glad to see you're excited about the game. I'm an early backer and I've been playing the Beta for a while now. As per your interview, I was also surprised to find so many new plots and so much lore in that game (I can't believe how much MORE they've put in, above and beyond an already very flavorful AP). I really like the style of this game.
Can you please provide any other insights about the game?
|
Creative Director
|
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
James I just saw your 5min Owlcat / Kingmaker video game interview on Facebook. First: you clean up good Sir. Second: I'm glad to see you're excited about the game. I'm an early backer and I've been playing the Beta for a while now. As per your interview, I was also surprised to find so many new plots and so much lore in that game (I can't believe how much MORE they've put in, above and beyond an already very flavorful AP). I really like the style of this game.
Can you please provide any other insights about the game?
Whew! I knew choosing that day to take my biannual shower was a good choice!
I can't give many more insights at this point—most of the back and forth with Owlcat has been through Mark Moreland, our Franchise guy. He's been playing the game and helping them to keep things on track and providing feedback. My involvement has mostly been in approving art and helping Mark out here and there with trickier stuff.
I can say this—I am VERY impressed with what Owlcat has brought to the game and how they're expanding things. And I'm pretty delighted that I get to be somewhat hands-off, not only because that keeps me from having to work 80 hour weeks, but because that means when I play the game I get to play it as a player, rather than as someone who already knows things about it.
It is, though, pretty much exactly the kind of video game I've been hoping to see happen for Pathfinder from day one though. :-)
Hi James,
Since Joining letterboxd I have been starting to go through various horror franchises, and I am currently working through the Texas Chainsaw series of films.
I love the original, and was curious on your view of that movie. Seems like PF Ogres owe at least a bit of inspiration from these films.
|
Creative Director
|
Have you thrown away NPCs from your court yet? My paladin baron has kept everyone around so far, even those who have... offered him participation in certain... group activities. I've had to do a few CG decisions for my kingdom, and I'm seeing my meter inching dangerously close to NG... :P
Assuming you're talking about the video game... Nope. Haven't started playing it yet. Just involved in the behind the scenes approval process so far for me.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Last question... Cooking: I love how certain recipes can grant a buff the next day and how some NPCs have favorite meals. That's probably a weird question but... do you think we could one day see a Player Companion book on food, drinks, and/or innovative in-game uses of profession/craft skills?
Not just about food but we do food elements as parts of books pretty often.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hi James,
Since Joining letterboxd I have been starting to go through various horror franchises, and I am currently working through the Texas Chainsaw series of films.
I love the original, and was curious on your view of that movie. Seems like PF Ogres owe at least a bit of inspiration from these films.
For Runelords I wanted two horror adventures. Skinsaw was to be in the Hammer Horror tradition and Hook Mountain in th Texas Chainsaw tradition, absolutely.
I appreciate the original TCM but it's nowhere near my top ten horror franchises.
Did you have a favorite Planescape faction?
All weapons deal hit point damage. This damage is subtracted from the current hit points of any creature struck by the weapon.
You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level. When a spell or ability cures hit point damage, it also removes an equal amount of nonlethal damage.
(emphasis mine)
James, I am uncertain about this rule interaction.
If Nonlethal damage were hit point damage, wouldn't spells and effects that heal nonlethal damage be modified by the healing nonlethal damage rule, and remove an equal amount of nonlethal damage?
Hi, James.
It was a pleasure meeting you earlier today at PaizoCon, and I had a blast at your game... despite my terrible luck with the dice. (After the game, I bought two new sets from Q-Workshop. That'll show 'em!)
So... do you have any future plans for publishing Unspeakable Futures as a setting at some point? I really would love to see more of that world!
Anyway, thanks again for being awesome!
I asked previously, but the answer was that i should re-ask after the memorial weekend. ( From what i can tell memorial day is today.... US special days is nothing i know nothing of )
I know PF2E is trying to be made in such a way that older materials is still compatible with the new ruleset, but can we expect some progression in the worlds of Golarion as it shift into 2nd edition, or is pieces of history rewritten to work out some of the aspects that 2nd edition allows/disallows?
It's common in fiction for people to become necromancers so they can try to bring their loved ones back to life, this usually backfires on them but in pathfinder/golarion what kind of undead would they create if they succeeded in bringing someone back body and soul?
I understand this reason for necromancy would be rarer because of spells like raise dead but I'm curious.
How common is good necromancy? Any places where certain necromantic practices are accepted as good and normal?
|
Creative Director
|
All weapons deal hit point damage. This damage is subtracted from the current hit points of any creature struck by the weapon.You heal nonlethal damage at the rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level. When a spell or ability cures hit point damage, it also removes an equal amount of nonlethal damage.(emphasis mine)
James, I am uncertain about this rule interaction.
If Nonlethal damage were hit point damage, wouldn't spells and effects that heal nonlethal damage be modified by the healing nonlethal damage rule, and remove an equal amount of nonlethal damage?
I don't answer rules questions.
1) Ask your GM for their preference in the game.
2) Ask on the rules forums to let the design folks know you find the rule unclear, so others can help figure things out, and so that the question can be FAQed.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hi, James.
It was a pleasure meeting you earlier today at PaizoCon, and I had a blast at your game... despite my terrible luck with the dice. (After the game, I bought two new sets from Q-Workshop. That'll show 'em!)
So... do you have any future plans for publishing Unspeakable Futures as a setting at some point? I really would love to see more of that world!
Anyway, thanks again for being awesome!
No plans at this point for the immediate future, but I'd love to release it somewhere somehow someday. Glad you had fun!
:)
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I asked previously, but the answer was that i should re-ask after the memorial weekend. ( From what i can tell memorial day is today.... US special days is nothing i know nothing of )
I know PF2E is trying to be made in such a way that older materials is still compatible with the new ruleset, but can we expect some progression in the worlds of Golarion as it shift into 2nd edition, or is pieces of history rewritten to work out some of the aspects that 2nd edition allows/disallows?
Yes, we'll progress the world of Golarion a bit as we shift into 2nd edition, resetting the "current year" to 4719 or whatever and coding the 1st edition major events (mostly the APs) into the timeline in some way. Further details will be available in a year or so when the new edition is here.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It's common in fiction for people to become necromancers so they can try to bring their loved ones back to life, this usually backfires on them but in pathfinder/golarion what kind of undead would they create if they succeeded in bringing someone back body and soul?
I understand this reason for necromancy would be rarer because of spells like raise dead but I'm curious.
Whatever kind of undead works best for the story the GM wants to tell. In these stories, it's best to let the plot take over and make the decisions, even if that means you as the GM have to make up new monsters or whatever.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
How common is good necromancy? Any places where certain necromantic practices are accepted as good and normal?
Most necromancy spells don't have an "evil" descriptor, but very few if any have a "good" descriptor. Evil necromancers are thus more common than good ones, but good ones aren't super rare. There's as many good ones as we need for whatever adventure/story we want to tell, and that means it's easier NOT to say something like "43% are evil, 22% are good, and the rest are neutral," since that's ultimately unnecessary clutter.
That's not quite what I meant by that. Firstly, good and evil being energy and supporting the grand scheme of things is not really what I meant by good. That's a paradoxical notion beyond the scope of what I was looking for.
I meant good as in generally accepted without a negative cultural stigma attached.
There is a setting out there, I don't remember which one, in which a parricular culture held necromancy in high regard. When members of a house died, it was honorable for them to be raised as undead to defend the house. So necromancy wasn't simply tolerated, but rather seen as a "good" thing.
This idea of a culture that acceots necromancy without a negative stigma, or even praises necromancy is what I am wondering about. Are there places like that in Golarion?
So what movies have you seen lately?
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
That's not quite what I meant by that. Firstly, good and evil being energy and supporting the grand scheme of things is not really what I meant by good. That's a paradoxical notion beyond the scope of what I was looking for.
I meant good as in generally accepted without a negative cultural stigma attached.
There is a setting out there, I don't remember which one, in which a parricular culture held necromancy in high regard. When members of a house died, it was honorable for them to be raised as undead to defend the house. So necromancy wasn't simply tolerated, but rather seen as a "good" thing.
This idea of a culture that acceots necromancy without a negative stigma, or even praises necromancy is what I am wondering about. Are there places like that in Golarion?
Good and evil are not "energy" so that's not really a factor.
Yes, there are plenty of necromancers who are accepted by society, but they're not the standard. Honestly, the appeal of the good necromancer is that they're against type, not that they're accepted as a norm.
There are places where necromancy does not have a negative stigma at all and is praised and powerful and a sign of influence and is afforded respect. Geb is a great example of that. Geb is also evil though. There's not really a good-aligned society that is all about praising necromancy on Golarion as far as I know. YET.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
James,
Now that the last 1e AP is revealed, can you tell us if it is also going all the way to 20th lvl?
It's not. It's going to follow the standard progression of an AP, with the last adventure ending with the PCs 18th level or maybe 17th level.
|
Creative Director
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
So what movies have you seen lately?
"The Endless" was the best one I saw recently.
"Revenge" was a refreshing reversal of a worn-out/antiquated/gross genre.
"Cargo" was enjoyable, mostly for Martin Freeman's performance and for a few new ideas brought to the zombie genre.
"Deadpool 2" was fun but not nearly as fun as the first one.
"Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell" was boring, alas.
"Jeepers Creepers 3" was stupid enough to not finish watching.
"Downrange" was pretty good.
"Revolt" was average.
"Desolation" was above average.
"Winchester" was kinda forgettable.
"Insidious 4: The Last Key" had some really good and creative and admirable jump scares and a cool bad guy and a neat plot twist. It was better than I'd expected, but not nearly as great as the first one.
"Hostiles" was absolutely brilliant.
"The Commuter" was pretty fun but kinda stupid and predictable too.
"Deep Blue Sea 2" was absolutely wretched.
"Detroit" was amazing and awesome.
All the "Child's Play" movies were amusing, although the first two and the last two were the best.
"#Screamers" was great for the first 2/3, but when it tried to pay off the plot it sucked.
"Wildling" was pretty good.
"Pyewackit" was great.
"The Terror" wasn't a movie (a 10 part series on AMC instead) but it might be my favorite TV show. It's unbelievably excellent.
I'm sure I've forgotten a few since last time you asked this question.
James,
I've noticed that 5th editions adventures are usually single hardcover books. In my experience they can feel quite different to pathfinder adventure paths. The paths have more of a series/season feel. There is a conclusion at the end of each book and a couple of storylines across the whole path. The 5e books feel more like a movie with a singular theme and one resolution point.
Have the design team rejected concepts that you dont think would mesh with your 6 part adventure path format? If so can you tell us more about the ideas.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
James,
I've noticed that 5th editions adventures are usually single hardcover books. In my experience they can feel quite different to pathfinder adventure paths. The paths have more of a series/season feel. There is a conclusion at the end of each book and a couple of storylines across the whole path. The 5e books feel more like a movie with a singular theme and one resolution point.
Have the design team rejected concepts that you dont think would mesh with your 6 part adventure path format? If so can you tell us more about the ideas.
There are a LOT of stories that work better as stand-alone adventures (be they 64 page adventures or 256 pages or whatever). The "Kill the Dragon" plot is the classic one, and is a good example of a plot we rejected for an AP and instead used for a stand-alone adventure ("The Dragon's Demand").
Do you feel the presence of empyreal lords detracts from the horror atmosphere Paizo tries to cultivate? If so (or not), then how?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do you feel the presence of empyreal lords detracts from the horror atmosphere Paizo tries to cultivate? If so (or not), then how?
No. Because Golarion is a big place and there's plenty of room for all sorts of adventures. As evidenced by the numerous adventure paths we've published, which run the gamut from political intrigue to horror to swashbuckling action to classic dungeon crawling to science fantasy to pulp action and much much more.
Recently you mentioned you're currently playing in a campaign with mythic PCs.
Could you share a little about the campaign and your character?
James,
Do you use emergency force sphere in your games?
Do you allow it to be used when you're GMing?
Any general thoughts on what is probably the most controversial spell in the system?
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Recently you mentioned you're currently playing in a campaign with mythic PCs.
Could you share a little about the campaign and your character?
Jason Nelson's running the Legendary Planet adventure path, so if you wanna know more about the campaign, go check out those adventures! :-P
He's adjusted things so that us players are gaining mythic tiers, using his own adjusted rules for the system. Currently, we just started the 3rd adventure in the campaign and are tier 2.
My character's a halfling swashbuckler named Kiku Wilarue. She worships Desna, likes to do insane amounts of damage with her starknife, has trouble standing still, is a tyrant killer, and likes the color green.
|
Creative Director
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
James,
Do you use emergency force sphere in your games?
Do you allow it to be used when you're GMing?
Any general thoughts on what is probably the most controversial spell in the system?
Since I have no idea what you're talking about, I doubt it's the "most controversial spell in the system."
And furthermore, since beyond Paizocon last weekend (where I didn't run a Pathfinder game), I've not had time to run a game at all for well over a year, it's possible that this spell that I don't recognize was published more recently than I've been running games.
If something doesn't work for your game because you feel it's too powerful (or not powerful enough), then don't use it in your games. Let your players KNOW though as soon as you make that decision.
If this is a complaint about a spell making organized play games less fun for you, you should talk to the org play folks.
If you're trying to provide feedback on rules or asking for an "official ruling" then you need to do so in the rules forums and/or in the product that published that spell int he first place.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If something doesn't work for your game because you feel it's too powerful (or not powerful enough), then don't use it in your games. Let your players KNOW though as soon as you make that decision.
If this is a complaint about a spell making organized play games less fun for you, you should talk to the org play folks.
If you're trying to provide feedback on rules or asking for an "official ruling" then you need to do so in the rules forums and/or in the product that published that spell int he first place.
Have you ever considered just answering questions without lashing out at your customers and assuming that they have nefarious intentions? A simple "I don't know the spell, can't comment," would have been A+.