>>Ask *James Jacobs* ALL your Questions Here!<<

[Ed Reppert]

I was just looking at table 3-1 in the Core Rulebook (the one for bonus spells depending on ability score) and notice it goes up to a score of 44-45 "etcetera". Is it really possible for a PC to get an ability score that high? Will it be possible in PF2?

[James Jacobs]

Ed Reppert wrote:

I was just looking at table 3-1 in the Core Rulebook (the one for bonus spells depending on ability score) and notice it goes up to a score of 44-45 "etcetera". Is it really possible for a PC to get an ability score that high? Will it be possible in PF2?

There's no hard cap to an ability score for a PC, but there's certainly a soft cap when you factor in all of the methods in the game you can boost an ability score. That limit, of course, expands further the more homebrew or 3rd party books you include in your game.

That table goes that high more for the GM's reference, though, since monsters can certainly have higher ability scores—adjusting a monster's abiltiy scores are the best way to adjust its attacks, damage, hit points, AC, saving throws, and other numbers that it needs to hit to be an appropriate threat for it's CR. If you look in some of our later bestiaries, for example, where we start to include monsters of up to CR 30, you'll see scores this high or higher. Varklops, the most powerful kaiju (Bestiary 6) has a Str of 48, for example.

The scaling of ability scores, as well as the underlying math of the whole game, works a bit different in 2nd edition, but now's not the time to start talking about those numbers. Ask again later. ;-)

[Jose Suarez 310]

James Jacobs wrote:

Jose Suarez 310 wrote:

Hello James, there is a wizards crossbow called "Mages crossbow" which adds it's enhancement bonus to your ray attacks (to hit and to damage).

If I were gonna use Battering blast as a level 20 wizard which equals to(five balls of force) with a Mages Crossbow +5, would you add this +5 bonus damage on the first battering blast only? or would it add to each subsequent battering blast attack made on that turn?

Mages Crossbow:
This +2 light crossbow is made of silver that never needs to be polished.

A mage’s crossbow is especially effective against creatures with spell resistance. Against such creatures, the weapon’s effective enhancement bonusincreases to +3, and it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage. Whenever the wielder casts a spell that requires him to make a ranged touch attack (such as a ray) while he has the crossbow in hand, he gains a bonus on his ranged attack roll equal to the crossbow’s enhancement bonus against the target creature. If the spell hits, the caster also applies this bonus to the caster level check to overcome the target’s spell resistance (if any) and on the spell’s damage roll (if any).

Your GM will be able to give you the fastest and most appropriate answer for your table, as always. I don't answer rules questions here; you should ask them in the rules forum or on the product forum for the book in which the crossbow in question was published, so that you can get feedback and advice from the community at large.

Alright so how about ''how would you play it on your table'' or have you seen anyone use it before this way?

[James Jacobs]

Jose Suarez 310 wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Jose Suarez 310 wrote:

Hello James, there is a wizards crossbow called "Mages crossbow" which adds it's enhancement bonus to your ray attacks (to hit and to damage).

If I were gonna use Battering blast as a level 20 wizard which equals to(five balls of force) with a Mages Crossbow +5, would you add this +5 bonus damage on the first battering blast only? or would it add to each subsequent battering blast attack made on that turn?

Mages Crossbow:
This +2 light crossbow is made of silver that never needs to be polished.

A mage’s crossbow is especially effective against creatures with spell resistance. Against such creatures, the weapon’s effective enhancement bonusincreases to +3, and it deals an additional 1d6 points of damage. Whenever the wielder casts a spell that requires him to make a ranged touch attack (such as a ray) while he has the crossbow in hand, he gains a bonus on his ranged attack roll equal to the crossbow’s enhancement bonus against the target creature. If the spell hits, the caster also applies this bonus to the caster level check to overcome the target’s spell resistance (if any) and on the spell’s damage roll (if any).

Your GM will be able to give you the fastest and most appropriate answer for your table, as always. I don't answer rules questions here; you should ask them in the rules forum or on the product forum for the book in which the crossbow in question was published, so that you can get feedback and advice from the community at large.

Alright so how about ''how would you play it on your table'' or have you seen anyone use it before this way?

I've never seen this crossbow in play. At my table I would add the +5 bonus to just the first blast—it's still just one spell, not 5 separate spells. By the same definition, I wouldn't apply a bonus to damage to every d6 rolled for a fireball.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

What should the PCs do if they want to remove the curse from Viralane Barvisai? A simple remove curse spell would be enough?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Yes, but that's going beyond the intended plot of the adventure. Simply discovering she has a curse should be tough in and of itself, and the check to remove it should be quite high. In the end, this is a GM call to adjudicate since it's off the beaten path.

[Ckorik]

James,

One of my players wants to play a drow for return of the runelords (noted as a race with some presence in varisia by the players guide) - how are drow seen generally these days on the surface, and would another elf in the party know what they are or the implications?

I know they aren't 'top secret' anymore but I'm unsure just how much of a 'distrubance' a drow typically would cause in most places. I'm curious how you envision it.

[Blissful Lightning]

Hi James,

Can you reveal who's youngest and who's eldest amongst Desna, Sarenrae and Shelyn?

[James Jacobs]

Ckorik wrote:

James,

One of my players wants to play a drow for return of the runelords (noted as a race with some presence in varisia by the players guide) - how are drow seen generally these days on the surface, and would another elf in the party know what they are or the implications?

I know they aren't 'top secret' anymore but I'm unsure just how much of a 'distrubance' a drow typically would cause in most places. I'm curious how you envision it.

It's kinda the same as in baseline D&D these days. Most will react with fear or suspicion or hate, some with curiosity, and a few with open arms. If your player wants to do this, it's best for that player to chat with the others and make sure there won't be unwanted conflicts, of course.

[James Jacobs]

Blissful Lightning wrote:

Hi James,

Can you reveal who's youngest and who's eldest amongst Desna, Sarenrae and Shelyn?

Shelyn is the youngest.

Desna and Sarenrae were both among the first deities to rise to power, but since Sarenrae spent some time as a powerful angel (in much the same way that Asmodeus did, but less tragically) before becoming a full deity, Desna is probably the oldest of the three.

[Aenigma]

In The City Outside of Time, there is a character called Tiane Vaneir in Xin-Edasseril. She looks like a Mwangi to me, instead of a pureblood Azlanti or Varisian. But that makes no sense at all, because there's no way a Mwangi was in Thassilon. I know some Azlanti colonized the Mwangi Expanse but Thassilon didn't bother to explore or colonize such a far away place like the Mwangi Expanse. Is it just an error made by the artist, and should I simply assume she is a pureblood Azlanti?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

In The City Outside of Time, there is a character called Tiane Vaneir in Xin-Edasseril. She looks like a Mwangi to me, instead of a pureblood Azlanti or Varisian. But that makes no sense at all, because there's no way a Mwangi was in Thassilon. I know some Azlanti colonized the Mwangi Expanse but Thassilon didn't bother to explore or colonize such a far away place like the Mwangi Expanse. Is it just an error made by the artist, and should I simply assume she is a pureblood Azlanti?

Some Azlanti had dark colored skin.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

It seems that the PCs should kill Belimarius to put Vexnill's ghost to rest. If they don't do that and just destroy the runewell, will Vexnill's ghost roam the street of Xin-Edasseril, harassing people? Or would her spirit be put to rest once the runewell of envy is destroyed?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

She'd be put to rest.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

To shatter the runewell of envy, the PCs must drop an artifact into the runewell. The artifact is gone but not destroyed. Then to where will this artifact go? I mean, since Xin-Edasseril is a time-locked city, can I assume that this artifact will travel in time, either to the past or to the future?

[HTD]

James Jacobs wrote:

HTD wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

We'll have race names for all of these types of creatures

Are the various planet-ian races included in this list as well? Their racial names already appeared in print (though admittedly only in Starfinder), so will these names be used in 2E as well?

Maybe.

Zo!'s little cameo in Rise of New Thassilon uses 'elebrian' instead of 'Eoxian'. Does this mean that they're being officially renamed, or should I see it as a simple easter egg?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

It's gone from the campaign, and thus left to the GM to decide.

[James Jacobs]

HTD wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

HTD wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

We'll have race names for all of these types of creatures

Are the various planet-ian races included in this list as well? Their racial names already appeared in print (though admittedly only in Starfinder), so will these names be used in 2E as well?

Maybe.

Zo!'s little cameo in Rise of New Thassilon uses 'elebrian' instead of 'Eoxian'. Does this mean that they're being officially renamed, or should I see it as a simple easter egg?

Make of it what you will.

[Aenigma]

The Sihedron and the Sihedron heroes are trapped in an temporal stasis. Does that mean they can be freed via dispel magic, freedom, or disjunction?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

The Sihedron and the Sihedron heroes are trapped in an temporal stasis. Does that mean they can be freed via dispel magic, freedom, or disjunction?

Only if your GM is okay with skipping over a huge plot point. The intention is that these effects that trap the Sihedron and the heroes is NOT something akin to a spell that a PC could be cast, but something more powerful that can only be fixed by going on the quest indicated in the adventure. So as written, no, because the magic causing this to happen is from artifact-level sources.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

It seems that Karzoug simply wants to be released so he can travel to the Boneyard to be judged. I'm not sure. Shouldn't he want to be resurrected instead? So I want to ask this. Do those dead runelords like Karzoug, Krune, Zutha, Xanderghul and Alaznist wish to be resurrected, and will they certainly promise many things to the PCs in return for a casting of true resurrection?

[tworeceivers]

Simple question, JJ:

Does Cyclops Helm ability to chose a 20 in a dice roll count for the vorpal effect, if attacking with a vorpal weapon?

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/c-d/cyclops-helm/

[James Jacobs]

tworeceivers wrote:

Simple question, JJ:

Does Cyclops Helm ability to chose a 20 in a dice roll count for the vorpal effect, if attacking with a vorpal weapon?

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/c-d/cyclops-helm/

Even simple rules questions are ones I avoid answering here; please ask them on the rules forum or product forum so that others can see and weigh in on their responses.

That said, as the edition cycle closes... I might start getting a bit more open about answering rules questions AS I WOULD RESOLVE THEM AT MY TABLE IN GAMES ONLY... so if I do, please don't use my replies as ammunition to fight against rulings from PFS organizers, the official FAQ, or your GM.

(In this case, no, it wouldn't count. The vorpal effect should trigger on a ROLLED 20, not a CHOSEN 20.)

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Not everyone wants to be resurrected. In his case, he's ready to move on. Whether or not other bad guys want to be resurrected is left to the GM in almost every case... but keep in mind, it's VERY frustrating and demoralizing for players to see bad guys they fought to defeat simply coming back again and again. It cheapens victory.

[Thomas Seitz]

Dear James Jacobs,

Is it wrong to compare troll regeneration to Wolverine's? Also does Thremyr have a home in the Outer Sphere or is he kind of stuck on the Material Plane somewhere?

[James Jacobs]

Thomas Seitz wrote:

Dear James Jacobs,

Is it wrong to compare troll regeneration to Wolverine's? Also does Thremyr have a home in the Outer Sphere or is he kind of stuck on the Material Plane somewhere?

Nope. Dunno.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

Alaznist's soul is taken by Yamasoth because of her numerous dark bargains and pacts with him. Does that mean her soul is eaten by Yamasoth and thus she cannot be resurrected even with a true resurrection? Hmm, if she made an infernal contract with Yamasoth, then somewhere in Yamasoth's realm(Gongorina, perhaps?), there must be a document to which she signed her true name. Maybe stealing and destroying the document would free her soul from the qlippoth lord and send her soul to the Boneyard? I know she is evil and resurrecting a powerful evil wizard without redeeming her would not be a good idea, but feeding her soul to a qlippoth lord would be to horrific.

[tworeceivers]

James Jacobs wrote:

tworeceivers wrote:

Simple question, JJ:

Does Cyclops Helm ability to chose a 20 in a dice roll count for the vorpal effect, if attacking with a vorpal weapon?

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/c-d/cyclops-helm/

Even simple rules questions are ones I avoid answering here; please ask them on the rules forum or product forum so that others can see and weigh in on their responses.

That said, as the edition cycle closes... I might start getting a bit more open about answering rules questions AS I WOULD RESOLVE THEM AT MY TABLE IN GAMES ONLY... so if I do, please don't use my replies as ammunition to fight against rulings from PFS organizers, the official FAQ, or your GM.

(In this case, no, it wouldn't count. The vorpal effect should trigger on a ROLLED 20, not a CHOSEN 20.)

Oh, don't worry, I don't even participate on PFS or anything like that. I was just looking for a way to settle a question at my table :) Thanks a lot!

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

She didn't make an infernal contract; that's a devil thing mostly. She goes to his realm on the Abyss after death and, again, if the GM wants resurrection to be a thing in her game, fine, but this particular foe has had the story I wanted to tell told. I won't be bringing her back. Maybe in the future when someone else is creative director that story will change. But for now, nope.

[Thomas Seitz]

Dear James Jacobs,

Do you know who would know more about frost giant religion in Pathfinder?

[James Jacobs]

Thomas Seitz wrote:

Dear James Jacobs,

Do you know who would know more about frost giant religion in Pathfinder?

As far as I know we haven't done much work at all about this beyond what we've put in print in adventures like Giantslayer or books like Planar Adventures or Inner Sea Gods.

Rob McCreary developed/outlined Giantslayer so he might know more.

[Generic GM]

I took what happened to Alaznist’s soul to mean that multiple demons snatched parts of her soul away. It didn’t seem like she could possibly even be brought back after that. Is that a fair read of the event that transpired? For clarification I have no interest in seeing my favorite runelord brought back to life, her story was great as is.

[AlgaeNymph]

Without having to rely on Plot, how can I get into the Dimension of Time? And can I use that dimension to time travel a bit, say a decade or so?

[James Jacobs]

AlgaeNymph wrote:

Without having to rely on Plot, how can I get into the Dimension of Time? And can I use that dimension to time travel a bit, say a decade or so?

All up to your GM.

Runelords spoiler...

Spoiler:

Check out Return of the Runelords part 6 for one way to get there.

Time travel WRECKS hard work a GM or a world creator puts into the setting, and thus it's best to keep it behind the GM's total control. It should not be something a PC can just do, without going on a significant quest or undertaking a lot of complex in-world stuff.

[James Jacobs]

Generic GM wrote:

I took what happened to Alaznist’s soul to mean that multiple demons snatched parts of her soul away. It didn’t seem like she could possibly even be brought back after that. Is that a fair read of the event that transpired? For clarification I have no interest in seeing my favorite runelord brought back to life, her story was great as is.

That's a fair interpretation, sure.

[Benjamin Medrano]

Hello James,

How do you think Sorshen would react to a character with the Accidental Clone campaign trait and who also worships the Redeemer Queen? I'm suspecting it's highly likely that I'll have one in my group, possibly even a cleric of the Redeemer Queen.

[James Jacobs]

Benjamin Medrano wrote:

Hello James,

How do you think Sorshen would react to a character with the Accidental Clone campaign trait and who also worships the Redeemer Queen? I'm suspecting it's highly likely that I'll have one in my group, possibly even a cleric of the Redeemer Queen.

With amusement and curiosity, and probably a bit of pride in that she has apparently inspired someone she never even met.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

I saw the art on page 78 of Rise of New Thassilon. It was the best art from the whole of Return of the Runelords adventure path, but it also made me think a lot. How can Alaznist kill Xanderghul so easily? It seems like their fight was extremely one-sided. There is no way Xanderghul, the most powerful wizard in the history of Golarion, was not good at fighting.

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

She ambushed him, essentially. His pride made him think that he was invulnerable and unassailable, and by the time he realized he was wrong it was too late. Has it been a straight up one-on-one fight with both aware of things and on equal footing, he would have won. She knew that, though, and struck before he could react.

[Aenigma]

Return of the Runelords spoiler:

When Xanderghul arose from the deep slumber and found out it was Alaznist who awoke him, did he erroneously believe that she came here to awake and cooperate with him, rather than to kill him? In short, did Xanderghul still regard Alaznist as a dear friend(albeit inferior) until the moment when she attacked him?

[Ed Reppert]

Are you familiar with Niven's Law of Time Travel?

Spoiler:

"In any Universe of discourse in which time travel is possible, it will not happen."

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

He never regarded her as a dear friend. They were always enemies, although before Earthfall they kept up a thin veneer of friendship that was little more than masked hostility as each waited for the other to show any sign of weakness.

He knew he was in deep trouble the moment his wits came back to him... if indeed he had time to regain any wits in the first place after being in stasis for ten thousand years, which is doubtful.

[James Jacobs]

Ed Reppert wrote:

Are you familiar with Niven's Law of Time Travel?

** spoiler omitted **

Nope, I'm not.

[Aenigma]

On page 10 of Faiths of Golarion, there is an art that depicts a devil and a man. Is the devil Asmodeus, and is the man Abadar? Also, the place in the art doesn't look like Hell, because there is no way Hell looks so magnificent and splendid. Thus can I assume that Asmodeus is visiting Abadar's realm in the art?

[James Jacobs]

Aenigma wrote:

On page 10 of Faiths of Golarion, there is an art that depicts a devil and a man. Is the devil Asmodeus, and is the man Abadar? Also, the place in the art doesn't look like Hell, because there is no way Hell looks so magnificent and splendid. Thus can I assume that Asmodeus is visiting Abadar's realm in the art?

Does the article that image illustrates help decipher it? I wasn't that involved in much of the creation of Faiths of Golarion... but I'm pretty sure that image is illustrating a myth spoken of in that chapter.

[Zaister]

Aenigma wrote:

On page 10 of Faiths of Golarion, there is an art that depicts a devil and a man. Is the devil Asmodeus, and is the man Abadar? Also, the place in the art doesn't look like Hell, because there is no way Hell looks so magnificent and splendid. Thus can I assume that Asmodeus is visiting Abadar's realm in the art?

Yes, that is Asmodeus. Cf. page 14, where it says about Grandmother Spider: "She is especially loathed by Asmodeus, from whom she stole the keys to the cosmos", which is obviously what is portrayed in that picture. The man could indeed be Abadar, from the way he looks, but there is no real way to tell.

And, if I were Asmodeus, I would make sure that my home looks splendid indeed, even if it is in Hell.

[captain yesterday]

It is in fact Abadar, as he's portrayed in Inner Sea Gods, and yes I believe they're in Axis. :-)

James, with all the snow you guys got, are you ready for spring?

I know I am!

BTW, I love Inner Sea Faiths, you guys did an amazing job!

[James Jacobs]

Zaister wrote:

Aenigma wrote:

On page 10 of Faiths of Golarion, there is an art that depicts a devil and a man. Is the devil Asmodeus, and is the man Abadar? Also, the place in the art doesn't look like Hell, because there is no way Hell looks so magnificent and splendid. Thus can I assume that Asmodeus is visiting Abadar's realm in the art?

Yes, that is Asmodeus. Cf. page 14, where it says about Grandmother Spider: "She is especially loathed by Asmodeus, from whom she stole the keys to the cosmos", which is obviously what is portrayed in that picture. The man could indeed be Abadar, from the way he looks, but there is no real way to tell.

And, if I were Asmodeus, I would make sure that my home looks splendid indeed, even if it is in Hell.

Perfect; thanks. We usually don't just put random art into books—the illustrations typically have explanations in the accompanying text, so that should always be the first place to go to find out more about the illustrations. After all, one of the points of the illustrations is to catch the reader's attention and intrigue them enough so that they DO read the words.

[James Jacobs]

captain yesterday wrote:

It is in fact Abadar, as he's portrayed in Inner Sea Gods, and yes I believe they're in Axis. :-)

James, with all the snow you guys got, are you ready for spring?

I know I am!

BTW, I love Inner Sea Faiths, you guys did an amazing job!

Not really. I'm just ready for more rain and no snow. Winter's my favorite season overall.

[Thomas Seitz]

Dear James Jacobs,

When you say 'winter' do you mean Pacific Northwest IE Seattle winters or Minnesota winters?