How much did you work on the latest Qadira book, and who can I ask about locations in the region?I developed the book, so you can ask me... but it's been years since I had my head in that space, so don't expect deep revelations on every question.
John Compton wrote a few pages and is pretty deeply involved in the region's lore. Jessica, who wrote almost all of the book, isn't at Paizo anymore, alas.
Alas indeed, but that's well beyond the scope of this post.
I was asking because I'm looking into developing Naamat (Qadira, JotE; p.50) and thus nearby Butraf, as adventuring hubs. Do you remember any ideas you three had for those locations.
Beyond the scope of this post and beyond what I'm interested in talking about in public.
I don't remember anything additional about those locations, and I'm pretty sure that what was intended for them is in the book. As a general rule, we writers don't try to come up with more than 100% of the ideas; it's a waste of time and energy and inspiration and morale to overwrite for things, after all.
Plus, that gives the GM more room to fill in the gaps with their own ideas, or to bring in plots from other books that they enjoy from areas they aren't going to directly use in their game. For example, if you love a bunch of ideas from the Andoran book but have no interest in running an Andoran-based game, use the storylines there as you can, reskinned for Qadira flavor.
Ooo... Even adventure paths?
Oh, and what suggestions do you have for reskinning for Qadira flavor?
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Oh, and what suggestions do you have for reskinning for Qadira flavor?
Read products we've produced about them, read stories and myths and legends from the real world that cover the same themes, and then use that steeped knowledge and inspiration to turn that lens on stories from other cultures. There's not a simple or easy method to it. That's pretty much the way to do all of it, since I don't really have the time or inclination to type out a step by step process here... ;P
Oh, and what suggestions do you have for reskinning for Qadira flavor?Read products we've produced about them, read stories and myths and legends from the real world that cover the same themes, and then use that steeped knowledge and inspiration to turn that lens on stories from other cultures.
So what I've already been doing; good to know.
So...what about the other question I asked in that comment? About pulling material from adventure paths. Yes, I gotta ask for peace of mind's sake.
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So...what about the other question I asked in that comment? About pulling material from adventure paths. Yes, I gotta ask for peace of mind's sake.
Doesn't matter where you go to harvest ideas for import, as long as it's an idea you think is fun and worth harvesting and translating to a new setting.
Dear James Jacobs,
Do the images of Gates of Ivory and Gates of Horn work in the Dreamlands for Golarion the same way they would in say, Lovecraftian lore?
So, what movies have you seen lately?
I thought you didn't care much for animated films,so what got you to see Secret Life of Pets 2?
Any movies you're looking forward to in the near future?
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In your home games do you track stuff like rations, how much water is left in a waterskin, ammunition, carrying capacity, weather, cost of living, etc. or does it depend on the game? Eg. only caring about food and water when in a survival situation and ignoring them otherwise?
Depends on the game. For most typical games I assume the players are tracking that. For lower level ones it's more interesting to follow when funds are limited. And for survival-based games (such as "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv") it's kind of the whole point. So yeah, it varies.
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Do you look at Midsommer and think "The Wicker Man", or is it just me?
It's not just you... it's everyone, including the director as far as I know. "The Wicker Man" is pretty much the classic of the folk-horror genre, but from what I'm hearing some people are saying "Midsommer" is going to outdo "The Wicker Man."
What will you be doing during gencon?
If you had to live on Golarion, post Lost Omens. where would you choose to be?
Slightly more serious question, what "in your opinion" would be good Pathfinder 1st Edition APs for conversion to 2nd Edition?
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If you had to live on Golarion, post Lost Omens. where would you choose to be?
Sandpoint.
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Slightly more serious question, what "in your opinion" would be good Pathfinder 1st Edition APs for conversion to 2nd Edition?
All of them. AKA Whatever one you're most interested in playing. Some will be tougher to convert than others because there'll be more stuff to do, like Iron Gods, but they'll all work.
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Page 23 of Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale mentions "towns in Arlan". I can't seem to find Arlan on a map of Golarion. Is this a detail that got retconned?
Not retconned so much as just ignored, I guess. We don't follow up on every single thing we mention in print, but if we don't, that doesn't mean we intend for it to go away. We just chose to do other things with our writing.
Slightly more serious question, what "in your opinion" would be good Pathfinder 1st Edition APs for conversion to 2nd Edition?All of them. AKA Whatever one you're most interested in playing. Some will be tougher to convert than others because there'll be more stuff to do, like Iron Gods, but they'll all work.
Doesn't Iron Gods need an update of the Technology Guide for conversion?
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Doesn't Iron Gods need an update of the Technology Guide for conversion?Slightly more serious question, what "in your opinion" would be good Pathfinder 1st Edition APs for conversion to 2nd Edition?All of them. AKA Whatever one you're most interested in playing. Some will be tougher to convert than others because there'll be more stuff to do, like Iron Gods, but they'll all work.
All of them will need conversion. Some more than others. Iron Gods is one of those in the "more than others" category.
Hey James,
perhaps you can help clear something up for me and my pathfinder group.
A While ago, a situation came up which made us question how Total Defense was intended to work by RAI. Without going into much detail of the situation, the question is:
Could you, on the same turn, make an attack action that didn’t require a standard action to perform (such as a quickened Scorching Ray) right after using your standard action to take a Total Defense?
Our confusion came from the Pathfinder Companion Sourcebook, Melee Tactics Toolbox, which states on page 8:
Use Defensive Combat Options: If you’re easily hitting your opponent, or if survival is more important than dealing damage, you can increase your Armor Class at the expense of your attack bonus by fighting defensively or using the Combat Expertise feat. Using the total defense action prevents you from attacking—including making attacks of opportunity—but you still threaten foes for the purposes of flanking. Alternatively, you can use the aid another action to increase another character’s Armor Class.
Some people in my group believe this description means that the total defense action was intended to remove your ability to attack in any way, shape or form.
While others say this book isn’t a Rulebook and therefore simply misrepresented what the Total Defense action actually does.What do you think?
Thank you for your time.
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Hey James,
perhaps you can help clear something up for me and my pathfinder group.
A While ago, a situation came up which made us question how Total Defense was intended to work by RAI. Without going into much detail of the situation, the question is:
Could you, on the same turn, make an attack action that didn’t require a standard action to perform (such as a quickened Scorching Ray) right after using your standard action to take a Total Defense?Our confusion came from the Pathfinder Companion Sourcebook, Melee Tactics Toolbox, which states on page 8:
Use Defensive Combat Options: If you’re easily hitting your opponent, or if survival is more important than dealing damage, you can increase your Armor Class at the expense of your attack bonus by fighting defensively or using the Combat Expertise feat. Using the total defense action prevents you from attacking—including making attacks of opportunity—but you still threaten foes for the purposes of flanking. Alternatively, you can use the aid another action to increase another character’s Armor Class.Some people in my group believe this description means that the total defense action was intended to remove your ability to attack in any way, shape or form.
While others say this book isn’t a Rulebook and therefore simply misrepresented what the Total Defense action actually does.What do you think?
Thank you for your time.
Total defense is just that; all defense, no attack. You are still threatening if you are defending and have a weapon out, though, so you can still flank. You just can't attack (including attacks of opportunity). If you're on total defense, you can still enable a rogue's sneak attack, for example.
Flavor-wise, total defense to me means no attacking. If you attack, you're not totally defending yourself.
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Can the word 'god' be used to refer to all divine beings, regardless of whether they are full deities, demigods or quasi-deities? I've seen many individuals like Magrim being called both god and demigod.
"God" and "Goddess" alike refer to anything that can grant spells, be they a deity, a quasi-deity, or anything in between. My preference is to use the word "divinity" since that one is gender-neutral.
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Are there monotheists in Golarion? 'Cause if there are, saying, 'divinity is gender-neutral' would be an non sequitur, right?Can the word 'god' be used to refer to all divine beings, regardless of whether they are full deities, demigods or quasi-deities? I've seen many individuals like Magrim being called both god and demigod."God" and "Goddess" alike refer to anything that can grant spells, be they a deity, a quasi-deity, or anything in between. My preference is to use the word "divinity" since that one is gender-neutral.
It's irrelevant when the topic is about what I prefer to call them when writing about them.
What is your favourite setting for a dungeon crawl from a GM; Player and Designer perspective?
I've always liked the idea of a well designed wizard's tower myself.
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What do you like to do on Saturdays?
Grab a nice breakfast and spend the day playing video games, watching movies, reading, or chatting with friends.
Although today is different, since I'm on vacation; it'll be hanging out with family, going to see a bunch of giraffes and zebras and antelopes and a cape water buffalo at a local wildlife preserve in my home town and then later in the evening watching fireworks shoot off over the pier from a towering cliffside.
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What do you like to do on Saturdays?Grab a nice breakfast and spend the day playing video games, watching movies, reading, or chatting with friends.
Although today is different, since I'm on vacation; it'll be hanging out with family, going to see a bunch of giraffes and zebras and antelopes and a cape water buffalo at a local wildlife preserve in my home town and then later in the evening watching fireworks shoot off over the pier from a towering cliffside.
Cool! Have fun!
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Howdy and Happy Saturday, O' Most Sagacious Jacobsaur!
Q: Is there unrevealed lore about the origin of firepelt cougars, like Azlanti biotinkering, extra-Golarion emigration, or exposure to a magical event/natural magic "radiation"? Of did they just differentiate naturally?
Thanks muchly
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I once read in a 3.0 module that the author had a philosophy for adventure design that all background story should be something the PCs can learn during the adventure, at least in principle. Whether they learn everything depends on them finding key things, making certain knowledge checks, etc., so they may not learn 100% of the information in an actual game session. All other background story is a waste as it can't contribute to the story being told at the table. I'm paraphrasing this all as I don't recall the specifics of what the author said, but I believe that is the basics of their philosophy.
As an example, a troll with class levels works for the evil alchemist. The troll has some backstory describing why he works for the alchemist and how he got those class levels and so on, but he attacks the PCs on sight and fights to the death. In that case, the PCs really wouldn't have any chance of learning the backstory. From their point of view the backstory might as well have been "I wanted to make a troll with class levels. Have fun beating the snot out of the PCs. Lol." and those two paragraphs describing why the troll is there would be a waste according to the above philosophy.
Any thoughts on this philosophy or any issues you can see with it?
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Howdy and Happy Saturday, O' Most Sagacious Jacobsaur!
Q: Is there unrevealed lore about the origin of firepelt cougars, like Azlanti biotinkering, extra-Golarion emigration, or exposure to a magical event/natural magic "radiation"? Of did they just differentiate naturally?
Thanks muchly
Nope; just evolution doing its thing.
Any advice on designing traps that are interesting and fun? I'm big into the idea of kobold's lairs mostly because of the chance for cool traps.
Hi I have a question about the Dark Tapestry:
I read that Zon-Kuthon was changed after he came back from "the dark places between and beyond the planes". I assume this refers to the Dark Tapestry.
1. Does this mean that dark tapestry/outer space is not part of any plane?
2. If so does that mean that someone in outer space cannot planeshift?
3. What about the dark tapestry's connection to the inner planes?
4. Also bonus question who/what changed Zon-Kuthon? Dominion of the Black, Outer Gods, or something else?
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Any advice on designing traps that are interesting and fun? I'm big into the idea of kobold's lairs mostly because of the chance for cool traps.
Seek out adventures and sourcebooks that have fun and interesting traps for inspiration. The more you read about others' trap designs, the more varied and interesting your own will get over time.
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Hi I have a question about the Dark Tapestry:
I read that Zon-Kuthon was changed after he came back from "the dark places between and beyond the planes". I assume this refers to the Dark Tapestry.
1. Does this mean that dark tapestry/outer space is not part of any plane?
2. If so does that mean that someone in outer space cannot planeshift?
3. What about the dark tapestry's connection to the inner planes?4. Also bonus question who/what changed Zon-Kuthon? Dominion of the Black, Outer Gods, or something else?
In the future, please post one question at a time.
We've revealed what changed Zon-Kuthon in Book of the Damned a little, and then more in the Nidal book, I believe. The Dark Tapestry is wholly contained in the Material Plane, and Zon-Kuthon went beyond the Outer Planes, about as far from the Dark Tapestry as you can get.
1) No.
2) No.
3) Dark tapestry's connected to the inner planes in the same way as the rest of the Material Plane
4) If we haven't revealed this in the Nidal book, I'm not gonna do so here.
How do you maintain a separation between work and fun, particularly since your job is making a game? I will often get a spark of inspiration for a new adventure while reading a book or watching TV, or even just reading twitter, and will grab my phone to jot down the idea for later. But if you're in that mind-space all the time I can imaging it being hard to relax since you're always "working."
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How do you maintain a separation between work and fun, particularly since your job is making a game? I will often get a spark of inspiration for a new adventure while reading a book or watching TV, or even just reading twitter, and will grab my phone to jot down the idea for later. But if you're in that mind-space all the time I can imaging it being hard to relax since you're always "working."
It's not always easy or possible to tell the truth. Taking vacations is one way. Deliberately spending time playing games that AREN'T pathfinder is another. Also, a fair number of my ideas are horror-themed and pretty much not appropriate for the PG-13 thing we aim for with Pathfinder, so that helps...