Creative Director
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Why are the four Heralds of Dust in the Feast of Dust module considered to be harbingers? Their CR seem too low for harbingers, and they don't grant any domains.
Because of errors in development. They should have just been presented as unique powerful daemons. (I wasn't directly involved in the development of the adventure but was at one point supposed to be the one developing it, so perhaps chalk it up to a failure on my part to hand the reigns of development over after I helped Nick outline the adventure—sorry.)
Dear James Jacobs,
With the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on TV (thanks to Good Omens) do you think one might be able to stat Crowley and/or Aziraphale?
If so, would you still get David Tennant to do the voice for Crawley?
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What are your three favorite Doctor Seuss books.Don't have any. Never really got into him. There were not nearly enough dinosaurs or monsters that looked actually like monsters and not goofy stuffed animals.
On that note, did you enjoy Where the Wild Things Are as a kid? I loved it, but never got around to seeing the movie...
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Creative Director
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Dear James Jacobs,
With the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on TV (thanks to Good Omens) do you think one might be able to stat Crowley and/or Aziraphale?
If so, would you still get David Tennant to do the voice for Crawley?
Dunno. Haven't watched it yet, but since you can stat up other things, I guess so.
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What are your three favorite Doctor Seuss books.Don't have any. Never really got into him. There were not nearly enough dinosaurs or monsters that looked actually like monsters and not goofy stuffed animals.On that note, did you enjoy Where the Wild Things Are as a kid? I loved it, but never got around to seeing the movie...
Yes. THAT'S a book that I adored as a kid. It and Wump World.
Hi James,
I've been reading a lot of old-school adventures recently for inspiration for a home-brew campaign. Do you have any favourite old-school D&D (or any other fantasy) adventures, or any that you'd recommend reading?
Oh, and because nobody else has asked yet... Do you have #MyPathfinderSpoiler #85?
Mr. Jacobs,
Two Questions.
1 - Is Pathfinder 2 a better game then Pathfinder 1 (itself an improvement on D&D 3.5)?
2 - How difficult do you foresee changing PF1 campaign traits to PF2 Campaign specific Backgrouds? (… for those of us who have PF1 APs that they still want to run.)
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Hi James,
I've been reading a lot of old-school adventures recently for inspiration for a home-brew campaign. Do you have any favourite old-school D&D (or any other fantasy) adventures, or any that you'd recommend reading?
My top 5:
Queen of the Spiders
Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs,
Two Questions.
1 - Is Pathfinder 2 a better game then Pathfinder 1 (itself an improvement on D&D 3.5)?
2 - How difficult do you foresee changing PF1 campaign traits to PF2 Campaign specific Backgrouds? (… for those of us who have PF1 APs that they still want to run.)
Please limit questions to one per post in the future.
1) Yes.
2) You'll have to power them up a bit because Backgrounds do more than traits ever did, but it isn't difficult. It'd take about 1 minute, in fact. If not less.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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What do you think about the trailer for the Banana Splits movie, done as a horror film?
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Creative Director
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What do you think about the trailer for the Banana Splits movie, done as a horror film?
Didn't watch the link and kinda don't want to... so what I think about it is: No thank you.
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Hey JJ, so a bunch of us over on a large Discord server just got in a heated argument over how Brilliant Energy should be run and it spanned multiple issues. The larger topic here is how Brilliant Energy Longbows should be run, but in particular we ran into issues with the ignores nonliving matter terminology. Some people were arguing that it was intended as fluff text and that Brilliant Energy ONLY ignores armor and shield bonuses to AC, others went the larger route with the ammo being able to do things like go through walls. Which interpretation is correct? Also, if BE arrows can go through walls, which spells can stop them? Can wind wall? Wall of Force?
Go with your GM's call. I don't answer rules questions here, particularly ones that rise out of heated internet arguments. There is NO WAY I can provide an answer that won't get me raked over the coals by someone.
Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
Who is Paizo's most killer GM?
My assumption is Jason Bulmahn.
Edit: For clarity; I don't mean killer GM in any sort of bad way, not a strictly adversarial relationship with players; just one that inspires a healthy paranoia that there may be an owlbear around every corner and a dex save to be rolled behind any door.
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Creative Director
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Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.
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Creative Director
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Who is Paizo's most killer GM?
My assumption is Jason Bulmahn.Edit: For clarity; I don't mean killer GM in any sort of bad way, not a strictly adversarial relationship with players; just one that inspires a healthy paranoia that there may be an owlbear around every corner and a dex save to be rolled behind any door.
Not sure. Jason, in my experience gaming with him, skews toward more the former. At least, in the Eberron campaign I played whit him a dozen years ago or so where I churned through 5 characters over the course of a few adventures it kinda felt that way! :-P
He IS a big fan of having the bad guys attack the party while they're sleeping in an inn, after all... the old "Roll initiative, not to see if you go first, but to see if you get killed before you wake up" gambit.
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It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
What race did you have the most fun with?
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Creative Director
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What are the possible meanings of the word 'spirit' in Pathfinder?
A spirit is a supernatural entity (such as a kami or a ghost) but doesn't have a specific in-game rules-loaded meaning. It's a "generic" word we use for a specific flavor of thing.
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Creative Director
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What race did you have the most fun with?It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
The cats. The challenge of a PC race that's Tiny and has no hands was very fun to sort out! Hope I did them justice!
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The cats. The challenge of a PC race that's Tiny and has no hands was very fun to sort out! Hope I did them justice!What race did you have the most fun with?It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
Yay! Kitties!
There not something I'd probably play as a PC but they did look really neat.
The cats. The challenge of a PC race that's Tiny and has no hands was very fun to sort out! Hope I did them justice!What race did you have the most fun with?It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
Where can I get this book again?
/me has a large stash of unusual PC options he likes adding to
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Creative Director
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The cats. The challenge of a PC race that's Tiny and has no hands was very fun to sort out! Hope I did them justice!What race did you have the most fun with?It was pretty collaborative. I wrote the stuff in that book a few years back now, so I don't remember EXACTLY what I did, but I did do the bulk of the design work for the player races and the options that tied to those races.Did you write all the character options in Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos or was it more collaborative.
Loving the book by the way!
Where can I get this book again?
/me has a large stash of unusual PC options he likes adding to
We don't have any more in stock at Paizo.com, alas, but you can order direct from Petersen Games.
Or Amazon, I guess...
We just finished the Seven's Sawmill in Rise of the Runelords, where the group found a painting "depicting a city carved from a vast frozen waterfall with towering ice cathedrals and domes."
Is this depicting a particular site in Golarion, or is it a product of the artist's imagination?
Thanks in advance!
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Creative Director
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We just finished the Seven's Sawmill in Rise of the Runelords, where the group found a painting "depicting a city carved from a vast frozen waterfall with towering ice cathedrals and domes."
Is this depicting a particular site in Golarion, or is it a product of the artist's imagination?
Thanks in advance!
Unrevealed. It's probably just a flight of artist's fancy though.
What's the greatest trap you've ever fallen (or not) for whilst a PC and/or had others fall for while GMing?
Greatest in the sense of the most fun not neccesarily the most cunning/dangerous.
I.e. What are the coolest traps you've seen in all of your many year of playing; running and desigining TRPGs?
At a recent press conference, Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of Monsters, quipped that any movie would be improved by adding Godzilla.
And the AV Club put that to the test.
Would you agree with the premise?
Confession: The only reason I'm asking is that I saw the linked clip and immediately thought of the biggest Godzilla fan I know...
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Creative Director
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What's the greatest trap you've ever fallen (or not) for whilst a PC and/or had others fall for while GMing?
Greatest in the sense of the most fun not neccesarily the most cunning/dangerous.
I.e. What are the coolest traps you've seen in all of your many year of playing; running and desigining TRPGs?
I've been gaming since about 1981 or thereabouts, so that's a LONG time to talk about as regards "coolest trap." It's easier for me to reveal "most nostalgic/favorite trap" I guess, which is probably the green devil face from Tomb of Horrors.
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At a recent press conference, Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of Monsters, quipped that any movie would be improved by adding Godzilla.
And the AV Club put that to the test.
Would you agree with the premise?
Confession: The only reason I'm asking is that I saw the linked clip and immediately thought of the biggest Godzilla fan I know...
** spoiler omitted **
It's certainly an amusing theory, but in practice, no, I do not agree. Godzilla would not improve, say, "Alien" or "The Thing" or "Halloween" or "Blair Witch Project" or "Seven Samurai," to call out five of my other favorites.
It's certainly an amusing theory, but in practice, no, I do not agree. Godzilla would not improve, say, "Alien" or "The Thing" or "Halloween" or "Blair Witch Project" or "Seven Samurai," to call out five of my other favorites.At a recent press conference, Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of Monsters, quipped that any movie would be improved by adding Godzilla.
And the AV Club put that to the test.
Would you agree with the premise?
Confession: The only reason I'm asking is that I saw the linked clip and immediately thought of the biggest Godzilla fan I know...
** spoiler omitted **
Agreed: It was a joke after all.
Did you find that clip amusing, at least? (Or didn't you watch it?)
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Creative Director
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It's certainly an amusing theory, but in practice, no, I do not agree. Godzilla would not improve, say, "Alien" or "The Thing" or "Halloween" or "Blair Witch Project" or "Seven Samurai," to call out five of my other favorites.At a recent press conference, Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of Monsters, quipped that any movie would be improved by adding Godzilla.
And the AV Club put that to the test.
Would you agree with the premise?
Confession: The only reason I'm asking is that I saw the linked clip and immediately thought of the biggest Godzilla fan I know...
** spoiler omitted **
Agreed: It was a joke after all.
Did you find that clip amusing, at least? (Or didn't you watch it?)
I didn't watch it. When I check these questions and answer them at work, I usually do not click on video links or other external links, in part to manage time and productivity, and in part because I don't need someone finding out I click external links all the time at work and then set me up for a tasteless prank.
I didn't watch it. When I check these questions and answer them at work, I usually do not click on video links or other external links, in part to manage time and productivity, and in part because I don't need someone finding out I click external links all the time at work and then set me up for a tasteless prank.It's certainly an amusing theory, but in practice, no, I do not agree. Godzilla would not improve, say, "Alien" or "The Thing" or "Halloween" or "Blair Witch Project" or "Seven Samurai," to call out five of my other favorites.At a recent press conference, Michael Dougherty, director of Godzilla: King of Monsters, quipped that any movie would be improved by adding Godzilla.
And the AV Club put that to the test.
Would you agree with the premise?
Confession: The only reason I'm asking is that I saw the linked clip and immediately thought of the biggest Godzilla fan I know...
** spoiler omitted **
Agreed: It was a joke after all.
Did you find that clip amusing, at least? (Or didn't you watch it?)
Understood.
That's followed by five spliced-together clips from:
Titanic/Godzilla (2014)
Taxi Driver/Godzilla (1998)
There Will Be Blood/Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Back to the Future/ a silly clip from a Toho movie I didn't recognize
Jurrasic Park/Godzilla v. Mechagodzilla II (I think)
A dumb joke, but still pretty funny!
What's your strategy for taking breaks during the workday to avoid burnout?
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What's your strategy for taking breaks during the workday to avoid burnout?
Part of it involves popping in here now and then to answer questions. Another part is that I usually go out for a walk in the afternoon for 10 minutes or so, or take a break to play a game of Hearthstone.
But none of that is "burnout avoidance." The only way I've found so far to avoid burnout is to take actual days off from work.
If you were to move the first three adventure paths Paizo did (Shackled City, Age of Worms, Savage Tide)from Greyhawk to Golarion where would you place them (or in some cases where would you place the starting points)?
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If you were to move the first three adventure paths Paizo did (Shackled City, Age of Worms, Savage Tide)from Greyhawk to Golarion where would you place them (or in some cases where would you place the starting points)?
Shackled City: In the Shackles.
Age of Worms: Starts on the Isle of Kortos.
Savage Tide: Starts on the Mwangi Expanse coast.
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So will the monsters in the bestiaries of the adventure paths in second edition still have two pages, or will they have one page like in starfinder ?
They'll have one page or two pages, depending on the needs of the monster, but most will be one page entries.
Does Golarion have a replacement you would use for Adimarchus, Kyuss, and/ or Demogorgon? There doesn't seem to be such a thing as Prince of Demons in Pathfinder.
And, although you worked on them long ago are there any tips you would offer on brining them over? (Who would you use as a Tenser replacement/ is there a Magepoint equivalent?)
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Does Golarion have a replacement you would use for Adimarchus, Kyuss, and/ or Demogorgon? There doesn't seem to be such a thing as Prince of Demons in Pathfinder.
Just use them as-is. Particularly Kyuss and Demogorgon, which were SO influential as bad guys to me, their themes have inspired so much of my design that they'll fit into Golarion without any problem whatsoever.
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And, although you worked on them long ago are there any tips you would offer on brining them over? (Who would you use as a Tenser replacement/ is there a Magepoint equivalent?)
Honestly, I wouldn't bring them over. The thing that really appeals to me about these adventure paths, particularly Age of Worms and Savage Tide, is that they're SO Greyhawk. They're bolstered and made better by that fact, and if I were running them today using Pathfinder rules, I'd set them in Greyhawk.
If you really want to bring them over, and your players have no nostalgia vested in Greyhawk and/or don't know a Tenser from a censer, then don't change names at all. If they DO have vested interests in Greyhawk, you really should run them in Greyhawk, because that'll be more fun for those players.
I appreciate your response and one of the things I really miss about you guys not doing Dungeon in the last 10 years is how well you embraced the lore of Greyhawk (and the Easter eggs you left) as I grew up with that setting and love the respect with which you treated it. Alas, my current group skew younger and started with Pathfinder so have no connection to the classics. They love Golarion and it's lore, but are reluctant about learning a new edition any advice on what I should tell them?
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I appreciate your response and one of the things I really miss about you guys not doing Dungeon in the last 10 years is how well you embraced the lore of Greyhawk (and the Easter eggs you left) as I grew up with that setting and love the respect with which you treated it. Alas, my current group skew younger and started with Pathfinder so have no connection to the classics. They love Golarion and it's lore, but are reluctant about learning a new edition any advice on what I should tell them?
Think about how much you adore Greyhawk. Then look at that from your players' viewpoint, and substitute Greyhawk for Golarion. If the position were reversed, and your GM wanted to run a game in the Berzerkistan setting, which you don't know much about other than that there's decades of content that you might need to run to catch up with, wouldn't you prefer to stick with Greyhawk and enjoy the setting you've spent all that time with?
My suggestion at this point is to instead run one of the dozens of Adventure Paths we've done for Golarion—they're meant to expand the world, and it'll be less work for you to build the campaign, leaving you so much more time to customize as needed for your table.
You CAN of course adapt older content for Golarion. I do it all the time. I've run Keep on the Borderlands, Necropolis, and Temple of Elemental Evil all set in Golarion and they work wonderfully. But this is for players who work at Paizo and thus already know most of what we publish, and also are interested in the game's historical roots, so those adventures have the double draw of being content they aren't as familiar with as they are to content they'v'e written, developed, and edited, but also lets us enjoy the task of re-interpreting older content into our setting.
But if I were playing with people who wanted to know more about Golarion and were eager for it and thirsty for more Golarion content, I'd absolutely instead run a game set native in Golarion. People who have no interest or nostalgia for older D&D settings won't get the enjoyment others do in running/playing through older content.
And to be purely honest, knowing that there are gamers out there who view things I've helped to create with the same passion as I did and do for Greyhawk fills me with pride, relief, and delight. So really, I really DO want you to help them enjoy the setting by running games SET in the setting for them. ;-)
THAT ALL SAID: regarding the new edition... the only advice I have is to ask them to try it out. If the thing they love most about Paizo stuff is the lore and the setting, that won't change at all; the new edition doesn't alter Golarion's history, and the adventures we're doing for the new edition would have worked perfectly well in 1st edition, and vice versa.
In fact, since the rules and gameplay are more elegant and less fiddly/complicated, but still have a wide range of options, the theory is that players who enjoy lore should enjoy 2nd edition MORE than 1st edition.
So... give it a try once the game is out is pretty much all I can say.
Worst case scenario, for an experienced GM it's not going to be super difficult to run 1st edition Pathifnder games (or D&D games of any edition, or ANY game that's set in a fantasy setting) using 2nd edition rules, provided you abandon the pointless conversion practice of trying to be pedantic and hyper-accurate about copying rules and instead adopt a more artistic and thematic one to represent lore and themes without worrying too much about how the underlying rules match prior games.
Which deities are likely to have followers that are 'monster hunters'?
I've been thinking about an undead bloodline sorcerer trying to clear the taint from the bloodline of their once great monster hunting family.