Creative Director
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Your work on demon lore and Abyssal lore has been great from Hordes of the Abyss to Planar Adventures, it’s all been grand. I’m excited to see what Treerazer has up his sleeve. He’s a cool demon. I think he even answers questions on this website. What a swell guy.
What was your favorite contribution to the Hordes of the Abyss book?
Obox-ob and the obyriths.
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Creative Director
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There is an article about the Technic League in Lords of Rust. It says that between members and captains there are three ranks: commanders, lieutenants, and seconds. Which of these three is the highest and which of these three is the lowest? The article didn't specify it.
I'd guess commanders at the top and lieutenants at the bottom, but it's been years since I've done any serious thinking about the Technic League. I didn't write or develop the article either so I don't have any creator insights there as well.
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Creative Director
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The shift toward aeons being the main LN race is happening anyway, so puting an in-world reason for the shift helps address continuity and verisimilitude as regards canonI'll throw in a vote for more and expanded axiomite content in PF2 as well *since they're wholly owned by Paizo!Proteans are a great example of what I wish we'd done from the start with the lawful neutral side of things—come up with something wholly Paizo.Is it okay for me to ask why Axiomites aren't becoming the signature Paizo LN race and being played more with?
I really like them (especially compared to Aeons), being basically a swarm of fantasy programs trying to run the universe. I always hoped to see more with them, especially when you factor in the possibly of bugs and glitches (we were teased a bit in WftC).
I really can't go into much detail yet on how aeons, axiomites, and inevitables are going to get reorganized in 2nd edition, but none of them are going away, and with the exceptions of aeons being lawful neutral and presenting the pursuit of balance as an inherently orderly thing (because balance is, in my mind, order, not neutrality—pure neutrality would be non-existance, since entropy must have order to be defined and vice versa). We'll have PLENTY more to say later in the year I suspect.
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Creative Director
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So I'm confused about how rakshasa works nowadays because 3.5 article contradicts crimson throne and 3.5 korvosa book and rakshasa blooded tieflings existing. Like, old version claimed two rakshasas can't have children together and that rakshasa-mortal pairings result in more rakshasas. That sort of things.
Sooo yeah, how do rakshasa blooded tiefligns come to be and can rakshasa have children together?
The 3.5 stuff is outdated.
Rakshasa-blooded tieflings come about when a rakshasa meddles with a mortal bloodline, be it via experimentatnion, blood transfusion, magical infestation, possession, or plain old sex. Or any other method that works for whatever story you want to tell about the rakshasa-blooded tiefling.
What would be the biggest and/or the most dangerous library/museum/collection/whatever that someone could work at in the Inner Sea region?
(I'm essentially trying to find something like the Clayr's library from the Garth Nix books)
Which Pathfinder Society Scenario features Azlant? I know Rescue at Azlant Ridge and Beyond Azlant Ridge have Azlanti elements, but are there more?
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Creative Director
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When 2E comes out, will the events of the previous adventure paths have set dates? I'm just hoping there'd be a plausible reason for the Glorious Reclaimation to happen after the events of War for the Crown.
They likely will but not all of them will get into print at the same time. We'll certainly have dates in-house for canonical events for all of the Adventure Paths, and as a general rule they'll go in the same order the APs were published in. So, the Glorious Reclamation is likely to have started and been defeated a few years before War for the Crown.
Of course you can feel free to change things up in your game, and you SHOULD, since no one game is going to always match our assumptions.
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Creative Director
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What would be the biggest and/or the most dangerous library/museum/collection/whatever that someone could work at in the Inner Sea region?
(I'm essentially trying to find something like the Clayr's library from the Garth Nix books)
The one in the Crimson Citadel.
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Creative Director
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Which Pathfinder Society Scenario features Azlant? I know Rescue at Azlant Ridge and Beyond Azlant Ridge have Azlanti elements, but are there more?
I have no idea. We've published approximately 304,202,101 scenarios over the years (at least it seems like that many to me!), and apart from approving the outlines, I am not involved in their design, development, creation, and play. This is a question you should direct to the PFS folks—I'm sure John Compton can answer it easy, but whether or not he's got time to answer such a question I can't say, since he's probably in the thick of developing another few dozen hundred scenarios as I write this.
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Creative Director
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The 3.5 rakshasa ecology article about them reincarnating is still canon right? Or was there newer rakshasa article somewhere that makes it easier to check which parts of it are still canon?
That's still canon. The most up-to-date info about them is Book of the Damned, but if anything in the 3.5 article isn't directly contradicted (such as there being rakhsasa-blooded tieflings), then the 3.5 article is still accurate.
I like Azlant very much and really wish to see more adventure paths about Azlant. It seems that robots(Numeria), elves(Kyonin), demons(Worldwound), and Thassilon(Varisia) are your favorites. Is Azlant on your favorite list as well? If not, I guess the possibility to see a new adventure path about Azlant would be pretty low, because you are the creative director and thus you have the final say in deciding the story of an adventure path?
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Creative Director
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I like Azlant very much and really wish to see more adventure paths about Azlant. It seems that robots(Numeria), elves(Kyonin), demons(Worldwound), and Thassilon(Varisia) are your favorites. Is Azlant on your favorite list as well? If not, I guess the possibility to see a new adventure path about Azlant would be pretty low, because you are the creative director and thus you have the final say in deciding the story of an adventure path?
One of the most important things to keep in mind as creative director of anything is that, while you're the one who helps guide the direction of the thing, it's not just for you. Being a creative director is not the same as being a sole novelist or an auteur like John Carpenter, who writes and scores and directs his movies for the most part. It's a team effort, and the goal is to produce a wide and diverse range of things for folks to enjoy, not just focus on the things one person likes.
That said, I do quite like Azlant. It's not on my "favorite" list (my preference is Thassilon, which was created just before and in parallel with Azlant, and is my take on the "ancient human empire"), but that's not the same as saying I don't like it.
I was the one who outlined and helped write and create Serpent's Skull, which is very much an Azlant-themed adventure path (I took the first stab at developing a robust pantheon for Azlant, for example, and helped guide the first significant map of a city of Azlant architecture).
The possibility of another Azlant-themed adventure path is NOT low, in other words.
I didn't know Sorshen is a worshiper of Nocticula before I read the brief story of Return of the Runelords. I thought that, since most runelords(Karzoug and Alaznist would be good examples) are not that religious, Sorshen would not particularly worship a god as well. Have you already decided so long ago? In other words, if in 2010 or 2011 I asked you which god Sorshen worshiped, would you have answered Sorshen or would you have answered Unrevealed or Undecided?
At what age does someone "graduate" from Turandurok Academy? Would they just be kicked out of their dorm and turned loose on the world? Asking because I have a player whose character was an orphan and knew Tsuto from the academy, but wasn't sure at what age either of them might have left.
The one in the Crimson Citadel.What would be the biggest and/or the most dangerous library/museum/collection/whatever that someone could work at in the Inner Sea region?
(I'm essentially trying to find something like the Clayr's library from the Garth Nix books)
I thought that only the Blood Mistress could access that? Do they have librarians that work there too?
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Creative Director
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I didn't know Sorshen is a worshiper of Nocticula before I read the brief story of Return of the Runelords. I thought that, since most runelords(Karzoug and Alaznist would be good examples) are not that religious, Sorshen would not particularly worship a god as well. Have you already decided so long ago? In other words, if in 2010 or 2011 I asked you which god Sorshen worshiped, would you have answered Sorshen or would you have answered Unrevealed or Undecided?
I would have answered "Unrevealed."
I decided to have Sorshen be a worshiper of the Redeemer Queen when it became apparent that I wasn't going to be able to devote a full adventure or campaign to Nocticula's rising, and seeing that those two arcs were similar, I wanted to embrace that rather than have them both happen separately.
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Creative Director
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At what age does someone "graduate" from Turandurok Academy? Would they just be kicked out of their dorm and turned loose on the world? Asking because I have a player whose character was an orphan and knew Tsuto from the academy, but wasn't sure at what age either of them might have left.
I think of Turandarok Academy as being akin to grade school through elementary school, so you "graduate" at about the equivalent of 8th grade. So... graduates would be about 13 to 14 years old, I guess.
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Creative Director
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I thought that only the Blood Mistress could access that? Do they have librarians that work there too?The one in the Crimson Citadel.What would be the biggest and/or the most dangerous library/museum/collection/whatever that someone could work at in the Inner Sea region?
(I'm essentially trying to find something like the Clayr's library from the Garth Nix books)
That's something we've said very little about, but it's ridiculous to assume that she's the only one to have access to it. It's a giant library. At the very least there are magical or monstrous guardians. She also would grant access to it to visitors, and I think it's more interesting if high-ranking assassins would be able to get access pretty easily. At some point I hope to do more with this topic and expand and give it more details beyond the initial ideas.
In either case, the answer remains the same. Even if she's the only one who could access it, it remains the most dangerous library for someone to work at.
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So, The Rise of New Thassilon, wow. It’s good. Really, really good!
When you were outlining this adventure path, how early on did you know that you wanted the PCs to visit that particular spirit in the great beyond?
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Creative Director
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So, The Rise of New Thassilon, wow. It’s good. Really, really good!
When you were outlining this adventure path, how early on did you know that you wanted the PCs to visit that particular spirit in the great beyond?
Glad you like it! It's probably the most complicated single Adventure Path volume I've ever had to do (although far from the HARDEST one to do).
And visiting that spirit in the Great Beyond has been one of the core ideas of Return of the Runelords from the start. So... how early on? While I was developing Rise of the Runelords.
Glad you like it! It's probably the most complicated single Adventure Path volume I've ever had to do (although far from the HARDEST one to do).
And visiting that spirit in the Great Beyond has been one of the core ideas of Return of the Runelords from the start. So... how early on? While I was developing Rise of the Runelords.
Wow! That was impressive foresight. That was such a cool moment to read about. Something that struck me about this AP is how much it humanizes these major villains. The little touches like Xanderghul possibly looking out on his old kingdom sadly, was actually a bit sad. Sorshen’s redemption is well thought out and read as completely genuine. Great work on all counts.
What was the hardest volume you ever did and what made it so challenging?
Sigh. It's sad to hear that a full advenure about Nocticula's rising didn't happen. Their redemptions should have happened separately, because simply saying "Sorshen is redeemed because her goddess wanted it" doesn't seem that persuasive to me. Regarding Sorshen, I have another question. Was she a worshiper of Nocticula before the foundation of Thassilon? Did Xin know her faith? I think "No" would be the answer to both questions, because there's no way the worship of Nocticula(and other demon lords) was legal in Azlant.
I thought that only the Blood Mistress could access that? Do they have librarians that work there too?The one in the Crimson Citadel.What would be the biggest and/or the most dangerous library/museum/collection/whatever that someone could work at in the Inner Sea region?
(I'm essentially trying to find something like the Clayr's library from the Garth Nix books)
That's something we've said very little about, but it's ridiculous to assume that she's the only one to have access to it. It's a giant library. At the very least there are magical or monstrous guardians. She also would grant access to it to visitors, and I think it's more interesting if high-ranking assassins would be able to get access pretty easily. At some point I hope to do more with this topic and expand and give it more details beyond the initial ideas.
In either case, the answer remains the same. Even if she's the only one who could access it, it remains the most dangerous library for someone to work at.
I agree, having been a librarian (and thus my interest), but I'm a very literal minded person, and both the faction guide and the adventurer's guide say that only she has access.
I eagerly anticipate your eventual expansion. Incidentally, my follow-up question would be what would you give as a rough estimate for the CR of the Sarzari Library (per the Ultimate Intrigue rules)?
Do you have a process or resource(s) for coming up with person or place names?
Ever play Fallen London? If so, have you Seeked?
What did you think of Mass Effect Andromeda?
I've never played Mass Effect but I found it at a local store and decided to give it a try, a fun game so far!
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Dear "Papa James" Jacobs,
Where in Golarion would pizza most likely originate from?
Anything to say about different regional styles (Taldan Old-Fashioned Tomato-Pie, Mwangi Soursponge-crust, Absalom Godscrust, Rahadoumi Bagel-Bites, Nidalese black-fungus-and-rack-twisted-cheese, Varisian Sin-Lover's, Kyonin honeycheese-and-broccoli, Alkenstar powder-fired, Andoran round-table-style with maize-dough and peanut-sauce, Chelaxian Slip-Stuft, Jalmerayan Impossible Dough-Twists, Orvian Really-Really-Really-Deep-Dish, etc.)?
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Creative Director
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Sigh. It's sad to hear that a full advenure about Nocticula's rising didn't happen. Their redemptions should have happened separately, because simply saying "Sorshen is redeemed because her goddess wanted it" doesn't seem that persuasive to me. Regarding Sorshen, I have another question. Was she a worshiper of Nocticula before the foundation of Thassilon? Did Xin know her faith? I think "No" would be the answer to both questions, because there's no way the worship of Nocticula(and other demon lords) was legal in Azlant.
Yup, disappointed me too, but life will do that now and then.
And I didn't say "Sorshen is redeemed because her goddess wanted it." The Adventure Path goes into detail about it and it's not that simplified at all. I'm pretty proud of how it all turned out. Sorry if it disappoints you.
Yes, she was a worshiper of Nocticula before this, but it wasn't an element that defined her. She wasn't super religious. She started to openly worship her long after Xin died, in any event. Worship of Nocticula and some demon lords WAS legal in parts of Azlant, just as it is legal today in some parts of Avistan.
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Creative Director
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I eagerly anticipate your eventual expansion. Incidentally, my follow-up question would be what would you give as a rough estimate for the CR of the Sarzari Library (per the Ultimate Intrigue rules)?
It should be a benchmark for the highest side of things. I guess CR 20. Maybe CR 25. Somewhere in that range.
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Creative Director
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Do you have a process or resource(s) for coming up with person or place names?
A few. Often, I'll spend a few hours jotting names down in one of my notebooks to make a bank of names to use, and as I use them I put a checkmark next to them. I'll generate them either by looking up names online from specific cultures and adjusting, or by using one of the many online name generators and maybe mixing up a few letters, or spelling words backwards and then swapping around letters, or just make them up out of the blue. It helps to have a deep understanding of how words are constructed so you don't make a name that's just alphabet soup that can't actually be pronounced by a human mouth, of course. Unless that's the goal.
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Creative Director
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Dear "Papa James" Jacobs,
Where in Golarion would pizza most likely originate from?
Anything to say about different regional styles (Taldan Old-Fashioned Tomato-Pie, Mwangi Soursponge-crust, Absalom Godscrust, Rahadoumi Bagel-Bites, Nidalese black-fungus-and-rack-twisted-cheese, Varisian Sin-Lover's, Kyonin honeycheese-and-broccoli, Alkenstar powder-fired, Andoran round-table-style with maize-dough and peanut-sauce, Chelaxian Slip-Stuft, Jalmerayan Impossible Dough-Twists, Orvian Really-Really-Really-Deep-Dish, etc.)?
If I had to say, I'd say Taldor, or maybe Absalom.
That said, pizza feels kinda anachronistic to me, and I doubt it really has much of a presence in Golarion. There's certainly flatbread type food, but the relatively modern tomato sauce/mozzarella/pepperoni combo? Not so much I suspect.
Shalelu Andosana lost her elven father to a bugbear. Her mother took a human called Jakardos as a second husband. Is the surname Andosana her father's or stepfather's?
Why did Jakardos heartlessly leave Shalelu after Seanthia died? That act convinced Shalelu that he merely took advantage of her mother and he didn't truly love his elven wife and stepdaughter. It was his betrayal that made Shalelu a solitary ranger because she had hard time believing humans.
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Creative Director
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Why did Jakardos heartlessly leave Shalelu after Seanthia died? That act convinced Shalelu that he merely took advantage of her mother and he didn't truly love his elven wife and stepdaughter. It was his betrayal that made Shalelu a solitary ranger because she had hard time believing humans.
Because he has deep character flaws and is far from a perfect father.
Do the Chronicles of the Righteous and the Concordance of Rivals constantly self update?
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Creative Director
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Do the Chronicles of the Righteous and the Concordance of Rivals constantly self update?
Probably. Or maybe they simply already contain all that information, but you just can't find recent events until they occur. Time doesn't have to work the same for artifacts as it does for us.
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When is the first day of each season?
The autumn months are Rova-Lamashan-Neth (ISWG-248).
Swallowtail Festival occurs on the autumnal equinox (ISWG-248, RotRLae-13).
Swallowtail release occurs on the first day of autumn (ISG-49, Burnt Offerings-10).
This would indicate that autumn starts on the equinox (or the day after). By starting on the equinox, the season starts two-thirds of the way through the first autumnal month and doesn't end until two-thirds of the way through the first winter month.
This would mean midsummer's day is the first day of summer.
This is a mix-up between meteorological seasons and astronomical seasons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season#Reckoning
If Dwarven Battle Bread from Discworld made it's way to Golorian, how much damage would it do?
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Creative Director
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When is the first day of each season?
The autumn months are Rova-Lamashan-Neth (ISWG-248).
Swallowtail Festival occurs on the autumnal equinox (ISWG-248, RotRLae-13).
Swallowtail release occurs on the first day of autumn (ISG-49, Burnt Offerings-10).This would indicate that autumn starts on the equinox (or the day after). By starting on the equinox, the season starts two-thirds of the way through the first autumnal month and doesn't end until two-thirds of the way through the first winter month.
This would mean midsummer's day is the first day of summer.This is a mix-up between meteorological seasons and astronomical seasons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season#Reckoning
I've never been quite 100% satisfied with Golarion's calendar, and I wish that we'd not tried to tinker with it nearly as much by changing the number of days. This is a GREAT example of why it's good to stick with real-world analogues. It's why Golarion is the same size as earth and why it has 1 moon the same size as our moon. Changing those things affects tides and weather and seasons in ways that take a LOT of work to keep track of, when that work is better put toward developing exciting story lines.
If I had a time machine, I would have changed Golarion's calendar to follow the Gregorian one, only with fantasy names for the months and days, so that it'd be a lot easier to do things like keep track of when seasons start or even to determine what days of the month have full moons or when leap years happen.
AKA: I don't know off the top of my head when the first day of each season is. Feel free to pick days that work good for you.
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Wait what. Isn't Golarion calendar divided so that there is 3 months for each of 4 seasons? I kinda assumed you don't need to know stuff like "when is equinox or first day of autumn" when the calendar says "Rova is first month of fall, Neth is last month of fall"?
I don't know much about meteorology or astronomical stuff so maybe I'm missing a major reason of why that doesn't work ._.(well besides stuff like in south and north it should be different length of summer and winter)
Is Golarion's axis of rotation at the same (or close) angle to the plane of the ecliptic that earth's is?
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How much of your book, Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast, would I need to keep in mind to run Rise of the Runelords? I know the majority of the information in it is in regards to how things have spun out from Rise's events, but I'm worried if I just disregard it until after running the AP, I'll have missed out on vital characterization information to roleplay the NPCs of Sandpoint.