Creative Director
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How do you maintain the level of patience that you do?
I don't, but that doesn't mean I have to reveal that I lose patience publicly.
I do this by not hitting "Submit Post" immediately after I write a reply when something gets me angry. I wait. I read it over. I make sure that if what I want to post is something I want to stay on the internet forever before I hit the button. I also try to follow this same procedure when I post anything anywhere to the internet, including my private facebook account and the like, since really, if it's on the internet it's never actually private.
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Creative Director
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If not beholden to any inherited/gamer-traditional notions of devils, demons, and daemons, what would your approach to evil outsiders look like?
It would depend on my goals, but I wouldn't call them devils or demons or whatever. If I was making them up out of the blue, I'd make their name up out of the blue as well.
After all... What would be the point if I wasn't able to explore and expand and build upon thousands of years of human mythology? The thing that's therapeutic about depicting fiends is that it lets us take a look at what's awful in ourselves, perhaps venting that awfulness in a way that's not actually destructive, and so on.
I'm sorry. I thought that because it is about fantastic creatures, and also because people say many gross things about various bizarre and weird monstrosities on this board, that kind of question can be tolerated here. It seems that I made a mistake. Anyway, I have a new question. Giants have one skin color. But cloud giants have white, gray, or blue skin, and frost giants have blue or white skin. You once said about the skin color of storm giants and that it will be revisited in Second Edition. Will the skin color of cloud giants and frost giants be revisited as well?
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Creative Director
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Giants have one skin color. But cloud giants have white, gray, or blue skin, and frost giants have blue or white skin. You once said about the skin color of storm giants and that it will be revisited in Second Edition. Will the skin color of cloud giants and frost giants be revisited as well?
Dunno. We'll see.
After reading Ruins of Azlant, I found out that the Azlanti costumes look like traditional Chinese costumes to me. Is it intentional, or is it a coincidence?
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I have to applaud your "wait before posting" strategy because I would have lost my patience long ago and just stop the thread <_< I'm really glad you continue answering questions even when people keep asking really frustrating questions
Anyway, my question this time: So modules and APs might be canon(as in "this has happened") in 2e(and PFS scenarios might be canon in broad strokes like "this is current leadership" and "Duke of Thunder got released from the artifact"), but stuff like bonus encounters in Unleashed campaign setting books or AP bonus articles aren't probably gonna be canon right?
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Creative Director
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After reading Ruins of Azlant, I found out that the Azlanti costumes look like traditional Chinese costumes to me. Is it intentional, or is it a coincidence?
We drew upon a lot of real-world cultures to generate the look for Azlanti fashion. Asia is one of those.
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Creative Director
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I have to applaud your "wait before posting" strategy because I would have lost my patience long ago and just stop the thread <_< I'm really glad you continue answering questions even when people keep asking really frustrating questions
Anyway, my question this time: So modules and APs might be canon(as in "this has happened") in 2e(and PFS scenarios might be canon in broad strokes like "this is current leadership" and "Duke of Thunder got released from the artifact"), but stuff like bonus encounters in Unleashed campaign setting books or AP bonus articles aren't probably gonna be canon right?
If we publish something, it's canon. Whether or not that's canon in your game depends on whether you change it and when you incorporate that element into your game, if ever. The very act of printing something in a book incorporates it into OUR game, which is the assumed baseline for anyone who plays in Golarion. That's how it's always been. That won't change.
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Hello James, thankyou for your continuous support on this forum. I haven't heard about that holliday yet so I hope you get it soon :)
As for my question, I was wondering what the creature on the cover of Planar Adventures is. It kind of strikes me as a nightmare astradaemon but I feel like that's jumping to a random conclusion. It looks rad and I'd love to use something like that but I can't for the life of me place it.
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Creative Director
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Hello James, thankyou for your continuous support on this forum. I haven't heard about that holliday yet so I hope you get it soon :)
As for my question, I was wondering what the creature on the cover of Planar Adventures is. It kind of strikes me as a nightmare astradaemon but I feel like that's jumping to a random conclusion. It looks rad and I'd love to use something like that but I can't for the life of me place it.
Had the vacation a week ago. Alas, got sick in the middle of it, so while it was nice to be able to just take it easy and relax while recovering from a cold, which meant that the sick didn't extend for that long, but it was frustrating to be sick pretty for more than half the vacation. :-(
The creature on the cover is an astradaemon. No templates, nothing like that. It's just a plain old astradaemon... which is to say, a plain old CR 16 foe, so handle with care for lower level parties!
(Different artists bring different skills and styles and techniques to the table, which is why it doesn't look exactly like the astradaemon in Bestiary 2.)
Will we ever get a cover of Ostag fighting Vampires in his own novel? Also who is your favorite Pazio created character among the staff?
How do you determine the unique abilities of creatures and how many they get? I understand that if something would affect damage per round then that should be taken into account when looking at damage by CR, but what about unique abilities that aren't easilly represented by the table in the back of the bestiary? For example, the leviathan can target everyone it wants with feeblemind (which is hella cool) but it isn't easilly reflected in spell like abilities per day.
I guess the question boils down to, how do you determine the balance of these unique abilities and is there a guidline of how many abilities like this a creature should have?
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Creative Director
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How do you determine the unique abilities of creatures and how many they get? I understand that if something would affect damage per round then that should be taken into account when looking at damage by CR, but what about unique abilities that aren't easilly represented by the table in the back of the bestiary? For example, the leviathan can target everyone it wants with feeblemind (which is hella cool) but it isn't easilly reflected in spell like abilities per day.
I guess the question boils down to, how do you determine the balance of these unique abilities and is there a guidline of how many abilities like this a creature should have?
Same way you decide what color to use when painting a picture. There is no mathematical formula to create monsters.
The best method is to compare the newly created creature to previously created ones and go from there, but it's more of an art form than anything else.
Good afternoon/evening!
What was the roughest job you've had to do at Paizo?
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Creative Director
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Good afternoon/evening!What was the roughest job you've had to do at Paizo?
Not sure what you mean by "roughest" here... do you mean the most difficult job? Or the one that ended up being the one with the most errors and problems that made it through to print? Or something else entirely?
That said, I'll be unlikely to say, since I generally don't like publicly shaming freelancers or writers... not classy.
I've run Kingmaker and am currently working through Hell's Rebels. Do you have a favorite AP that you would suggest I consider running next?
What's your favorite AP from the seat of a GM?
What about from the seat of a player?
Is there any particular AP that stands out as a favourite for you?
Do you have a favorite summer barbeque side dish.Hmmm... not really. No wait! Bread!
Do you have a favorite kind of bread.
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Creative Director
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I've run Kingmaker and am currently working through Hell's Rebels. Do you have a favorite AP that you would suggest I consider running next?
What's your favorite AP from the seat of a GM?
What about from the seat of a player?
Is there any particular AP that stands out as a favourite for you?
I don't really have public favorites of things I've worked on or have hired people to work on, because as soon as I say one is my favorite, it's too easy for feelings to get hurt. I suggest asking on the Adventure Path forums for other folks' opinions instead.
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Creative Director
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Do you have a favorite kind of bread.Do you have a favorite summer barbeque side dish.Hmmm... not really. No wait! Bread!
It varies, depending on what it's for. For example:
Peanut Butter & Jelly: Oroweat Honey Wheat Berry
Meat Sandwiches: Dill rye
French Toast: Cinnamon swirl bread
Cheese Sandwiches: Sourdough
I don't really have public favorites of things I've worked on or have hired people to work on, because as soon as I say one is my favorite, it's too easy for feelings to get hurt. I suggest asking on the Adventure Path forums for other folks' opinions instead.I've run Kingmaker and am currently working through Hell's Rebels. Do you have a favorite AP that you would suggest I consider running next?
What's your favorite AP from the seat of a GM?
What about from the seat of a player?
Is there any particular AP that stands out as a favourite for you?
Fair enough. Thanks!
How should I pronounce Oliphaunt of Jandelay?
Do the Watchers of Jandelay ever meet up with Uatu and his crew to compare notes?
How should I pronounce Tar Taargadth? I'm not sure if I should pronounce both d and th, or pronounce th only and not d.
Good afternoon/evening!What was the roughest job you've had to do at Paizo?
Not sure what you mean by "roughest" here... do you mean the most difficult job? Or the one that ended up being the one with the most errors and problems that made it through to print? Or something else entirely?
That said, I'll be unlikely to say, since I generally don't like publicly shaming freelancers or writers... not classy.
The most difficult job/role you've filled in the company was what my thought-thread was aimed at.
Definitely not classy to go after content creators, and didn't realize until your response that it could be read that way. My apologies.
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Creative Director
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When writing Rise of the Runelords, did you consider the possibility that Nuallia might be taken alive?
Yes, that's why I spent so much time describing her history and goals and personality, so that if she was taken alive, the GM would have lots of information to go on.
Otherwise I would have just put in her combat stats and nothing else.
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Creative Director
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I've got to ask now; does the "Oliphaunt of Jandelay" have anything to do with Nellie the Elephant, which includes the lines "The head of the herd was calling/Far, far away/They met one night in the silver light/On the road to Mandalay"?
Nope.
Not that I know of, at least. I've never heard of Nellie the Elephant, but that may have inspired Wolfgang who, IIRC, was the original creator of the Oliphaunt. Or maybe it was Wes? Or Greg?
In any event, none of its more recent development over the past few years has been influenced by Nellie.
The Inner Sea was formed when the Starstone fell to earth. Does that mean, before Earthfall, the whole of the Inner Sea was land?
Do you have a favorite Kaer Maga memory.
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Creative Director
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The Inner Sea was formed when the Starstone fell to earth. Does that mean, before Earthfall, the whole of the Inner Sea was land?
Most of it was land, yes, but there were still waterways and lakes and stuff as well. We've never really presented a full version of the pre-Eartffall region as a map though.
In First Edition, evil fey, serpentfolk, the Dominion of the Black, and the Mythos creatures all speak Aklo. It really frustrates me. At least the Dark Tapestry creatures and serpentfolk should speak their own language rather than Aklo, I think. I actually have no idea how can these four groups speak the same language. For example, fey and serpentfolk have nothing to do with the Dark Tapestry. They didn't come from there, and they don't worship the being in the Dark Tapestry. Thus it's weird seeing they speak the same language. Will this problem be fixed in Second Edition?
Do you have a favorite terrain for adventures, besides dungeons. :-)
Do you have a favorite Kaer Maga memory.Hmmmm... yeah, setting adventure 3 of Shattered Star in Kaer Maga allowed me to FINALLY convince James Sutter to write an adventure for me.
Is there anyone else you tricked into writing an adventure. :-)
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We've never really presented a full version of the pre-Eartffall region as a map though.
Will you, please? :)
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Creative Director
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In First Edition, evil fey, serpentfolk, the Dominion of the Black, and the Mythos creatures all speak Aklo. It really frustrates me. At least the Dark Tapestry creatures and serpentfolk should speak their own language rather than Aklo, I think. I actually have no idea how can these four groups speak the same language. For example, fey and serpentfolk have nothing to do with the Dark Tapestry. They didn't come from there, and they don't worship the being in the Dark Tapestry. Thus it's weird seeing they speak the same language. Will this problem be fixed in Second Edition?
It's 100% intentional that this group of creatures all speak Aklo.
Lovecraft was an admirer of Machen's work, and adopted some of his concepts, including Aklo, into his writing.
Since then, other writers have used the language as well when they've needed a mysterious language.
The fact that Aklo has existed longer than anyone on the planet gives it heft. When we were making decisions about the languages in Golarion, we wanted there to be a spooky, mysterious language to represent "secrets humanity was not meant to know." Aklo was the perfect fit, and so we've associated it with things that have had strong influences from Arthur Machen, Lovecraft, and other writers of weird fiction.
The evil fey element comes directly from Machen. The serpentfolk element comes from Robert Howard, whose stories were often intermingled with Lovecraft's. The Mythos creatures obviously stem from Lovecraft. And the Dominion of the Black is, thematically, a great addition to the above cast.
Now, from a more "in world realistic point," they wouldn't all speak the same language. Just as on Earth, we don't all speak the same language. We COULD have simply had each and every race in the game speak their own language, but that ends up making the game difficult to play. If every monster and NPC you meet during a game speaks a different language, you can never roleplay.
By having Aklo be a sort of "common" tongue for this group of thematically similar (but physically dissimilar) creatures, the game is made better.
(It's the same reason all demons speak demonic, all good outsiders speak celestial, and all creatures from the plane of fire speak Ignan; to make it easier for conversations and thus games to happen.)
TL; DR: This is not a problem. It's an absolutely deliberate feature, and it will be retained in 2nd Edition. In fact, I hope to have a few more group languages cover stuff in a similar way for other groups of creatures as well!
EDIT: OH and one more thing I thought of about Alko on my 1 minute drive home from work. Aklo is very much a primeval language. This ties in to themes that are shared with some religions and mythologies; that in ancient times, there were fewer things to speak language and thus fewer languages, and if you go back far enough, there's only one language. This is the case for Alko. It's one of the oldest languages, and is likely the oldest one spoken by natives of the Material Plane. Many of the cultures whose members speak it, be they fey or serpentfolk or Mythos creatures or the Dominion of the Black, are incredibly ancient cultures whose existence vastly pre-dates humanity.
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Creative Director
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Is there anyone else you tricked into writing an adventure. :-)Do you have a favorite Kaer Maga memory.Hmmmm... yeah, setting adventure 3 of Shattered Star in Kaer Maga allowed me to FINALLY convince James Sutter to write an adventure for me.
Yeah, but none were as difficult to land as Sutter for whatever reason. Well, except for all of those I've not managed to land, but you didn't ask about them.
Does Sorshen have a favorite flavor of Ice Cream?