Creative Director
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Thanks James! I guess this also means he was not redeemed?So this came up during a discussion with a fellow GM, did Alderpash survive? If he did then what is the ex-runelord doing when Sorshen and Belimarius are active on Golarion?He's still locked away in the Abyss and has no real impact on Golarion.
Nope. He's still awful. AKA: One "redeemed" Runelord is enough. For now, at least.
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How do Irori, Nethys, and Urgathoa feel about each other? I had the idea of worshiping them as a pantheon of Ascended Masters, since they all achieved Divinity through their own means.
What deities feel about each other is in large part irrelevant to whether a group of believers see something in them to worship as a pantheon. Iomedae and Asmodeus despise each other, for example, but the Godclaw pantheon still exists.
As for Irori, Nethys, and Urgathoa... none of them are particularly "at war" with each other, but neither do any of them have any strong feelings of admiration or alliance for each other. And the nature of how each ascended feels, to me, pretty disparate and different, but feel free to run with it for your game!
As far as published gods go, who do you think are the most unlikely friends?
While I’m here, I just wanted to mention how cool it is that you do this forum interaction. The Paizo fans really are lucky to be treated so well.
Maybe you can settle this theological debate for some friends of mine. Is Nethys Neutral because he does Neutral things, or because he does an equal amount of Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic things?
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While I’m here, I just wanted to mention how cool it is that you do this forum interaction. The Paizo fans really are lucky to be treated so well.
Maybe you can settle this theological debate for some friends of mine. Is Nethys Neutral because he does Neutral things, or because he does an equal amount of Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic things?
He's neutral because magic is neutral. It can be used for any moral or ethical purpose. That's why he's presented as a duality—magic as a force for creation and for destruction. It has nothing at all to do with what he does.
If he wasn't neutral, we would have had to have had multiple gods of magic, since it's weird to have only a good magic god and then have evil spellcasters, or vice-versa.
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Why is it so common for characters to devote themselves to a single deity instead of a pantheon where all deities are given worship and acknowlegement (in varying amounts) like real world polytheistic cultures?
Because that's the tradition in the game with how the cleric works. And because it's much easier to cosplay/hero-worship/model your character off of a single deity rather than a collection of them. And because we're not trying to copy real-world polytheistic cultures.
That said, there's plenty of non-cleric characters in the game who worship multiple deities, but as they're not clerics, their faith is not usually a core focus of their character and due to limits on word count we don't go into non-core parts of an NPC.
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While I’m here, I just wanted to mention how cool it is that you do this forum interaction. The Paizo fans really are lucky to be treated so well.
Maybe you can settle this theological debate for some friends of mine. Is Nethys Neutral because he does Neutral things, or because he does an equal amount of Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic things?
He's neutral because magic is neutral. It can be used for any moral or ethical purpose. That's why he's presented as a duality—magic as a force for creation and for destruction. It has nothing at all to do with what he does.
If he wasn't neutral, we would have had to have had multiple gods of magic, since it's weird to have only a good magic god and then have evil spellcasters, or vice-versa.
Speaking of, I've been wondering - why does Nethys' list of follower alignments exclude people who are LG, LE, CG, or CE?
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Creative Director
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Speaking of, I've been wondering - why does Nethys' list of follower alignments exclude people who are LG, LE, CG, or CE?While I’m here, I just wanted to mention how cool it is that you do this forum interaction. The Paizo fans really are lucky to be treated so well.
Maybe you can settle this theological debate for some friends of mine. Is Nethys Neutral because he does Neutral things, or because he does an equal amount of Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic things?
He's neutral because magic is neutral. It can be used for any moral or ethical purpose. That's why he's presented as a duality—magic as a force for creation and for destruction. It has nothing at all to do with what he does.
If he wasn't neutral, we would have had to have had multiple gods of magic, since it's weird to have only a good magic god and then have evil spellcasters, or vice-versa.
Because those alignments deviate too far from neutrality—in order to be a devoted Nethys worshiper you need to keep the impartialiaty of magic in your mind and actions to at least some extent.
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Was there an adventure that takes place during the Mwangi revolt against Sargava, or is that just something that happened in the background? Was Baron Utilinus killed or did he retreat? What tribes banded together, and who were the major leaders of the revoltion?
That's brand new lore introduced in 2nd edition that was never a part of an adventure. All that we've really said about it is in print in the Lost Omens books, but we'll certainly have more to say about it going forward.
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Was there an adventure that takes place during the Mwangi revolt against Sargava, or is that just something that happened in the background? Was Baron Utilinus killed or did he retreat? What tribes banded together, and who were the major leaders of the revoltion?That's brand new lore introduced in 2nd edition that was never a part of an adventure. All that we've really said about it is in print in the Lost Omens books, but we'll certainly have more to say about it going forward.
Will The Slithering give any more insight, or do you mean even further down the road?
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I look forward to learning more. I do like your team's decisions regarding the revolt. Having the revolution occur in an adventure (depending on player character concepts) could potentially be...Dances of Wolvesy...It's good that the Mwangi themselves were the ones who overthrew the colony, so they aren't passive in their own history.
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Will The Slithering give any more insight, or do you mean even further down the road?Was there an adventure that takes place during the Mwangi revolt against Sargava, or is that just something that happened in the background? Was Baron Utilinus killed or did he retreat? What tribes banded together, and who were the major leaders of the revoltion?That's brand new lore introduced in 2nd edition that was never a part of an adventure. All that we've really said about it is in print in the Lost Omens books, but we'll certainly have more to say about it going forward.
The Slithering will not—it's focused on other things.
Also, while I'm always thankful to hear kind words about things we do that please folks, please try to limit posts here to questions—helps keep the thread from getting derailed. Thanks!
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Are there any creatures that scare doppelgangers?
Not in a species-wide way in the same way that goblins are afraid of horses, no. But individual doppelgangers can certainly be afraid of things. I'd guess any creature that has true seeing at all times would give them pause...
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Based on a note in Gods and Magic about the great scar on Golarion's moon, was Tsukiyo a god at the time of Earthfall and if so, did he have any relationship with Acavna as a moon goddess and did her death affect him at all? Part of me was wondering if Acavna and Tsukiyo's deaths may have been linked in any way due to their shared portfolio of the moon.
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Based on a note in Gods and Magic about the great scar on Golarion's moon, was Tsukiyo a god at the time of Earthfall and if so, did he have any relationship with Acavna as a moon goddess and did her death affect him at all? Part of me was wondering if Acavna and Tsukiyo's deaths may have been linked in any way due to their shared portfolio of the moon.
Unrevealed.
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What is there in Golarion that allows even non-magical folks to progress so far beyond real world humans? and just how common are lvl6+ individuals?
Same thing as in this world—things like personal drive, inspiration, fortune, stubbornness, devotion, faith, practice, etc.
The last paragraph on page 253 of the Inner Sea World Guide breaks down how common higher level folks are. The short version is:
Levels 1–5: Most folks
Levels 6–10: Most leaders, movers and shakers, and notable NPCs.
Level 11–15: Powerful characters, such as famous leaders or heroes or villains.
Level 16–20: Legendary characters who can change the course of a region or the world.
As for a breakdown of percentages, I generally don't worry myself with that. I might say it's something like 70/20/8/2 though, I suppose.
What would you think of a Gamemastery professional grade school, akin to how some people study music on a professional level and there are even schools dedicated to musical study?
I see Gamemastery as an art worthy of study on such a deep and professional level. I'm curious if you see it as worth it, and would you support such a thing?
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In the real world, humans can't get high lvl. Even hitting lvl 5 is the few Einstein like people. But as you just posted, even lvl 6-10 is less than the most powerful and special individuals, making people Golarion in general way beyond real world people. Real world heroes and household names are still in the lowest category you posted.
So what allows a fighter in Golarion to achieve so more than a real world fighter with equal amounts of drive, determination, etc?
That's the difference between the real world and a fantasty-based fictional game. What allows a fighter in Golarion to advance to that level is the fact that they're in a fictional setting designed to provide entertainment and wish-fulfillment and escape from the real world.
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What would you think of a Gamemastery professional grade school, akin to how some people study music on a professional level and there are even schools dedicated to musical study?
I see Gamemastery as an art worthy of study on such a deep and professional level. I'm curious if you see it as worth it, and would you support such a thing?
The skills a good game master needs are certainly worth teaching—a mix of improv skills, creative writing skills, public speaking skills, team management skills, project management skills, and interpersonal diplomatic skills are involved. If you can have schools folks go to in order to learn how to be an actor or a writer or a public speaker or a project manager, then absolutely you could do the same for game mastery. And as things like live play streaming grows in popularity and being a game master can actually start to be a professional job, then I could see schools coming along at some point to provide said training.
I'd absolutely support such a thing. But I'd also like to see players take the passtime that seriously as well. An RPG is only as good as the worst person at the table, after all. And being a great player requires diplomacy, acting, improv, tactics, project management, and more as well.
That all said, and speaking from a position as someone who's spent the past few decades getting paid to create game material... when your hobby becomes your job, it ceases to be your favorite hobby at some point. The itch you'd scratch being a professional Gamemaster would not satisfy what you get doing it for fun as a hobby.
The itch you'd scratch being a professional Gamemaster would not satisfy what you get doing it for fun as a hobby.
There are a lot of musicians who'd disagree with this, at least in the classical circles. Many of the interviews include the artist saying that there love for it is why they continue.
In any case, I'm not sure how yet, but starting this kind of professional schooling is what I want to do. Just not sure how to do it yet. Any ideas?
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The itch you'd scratch being a professional Gamemaster would not satisfy what you get doing it for fun as a hobby.There are a lot of musicians who'd disagree with this, at least in the classical circles. Many of the interviews include the artist saying that there love for it is why they continue.
In any case, I'm not sure how yet, but starting this kind of professional schooling is what I want to do. Just not sure how to do it yet. Any ideas?
What I said isn't incompatible. I do what I do pretty much FOR the love of the hobby. I'm certainly not getting rich or mass-market famous as Paizo's creative director. I've stuck with this job longer than any other I've had because I love working on RPGs. But my enjoyment of being paid to create Golarion content is very different feeling than the enjoyment I get for creating content only for my home games. Hence, different itches.
I have no ideas how to start a Game Mastery School, logistically speaking. I'd probably look at what it takes to start a drama school as a starter though. But also I'd look at ways that going to school can result in a career, and it seems to me that performance GMing, as you see in the live play streams and shows, is where that's probably headed. I can't imagine a world where players would pay for a GM to come to their house and run a game for them. And the idea of a public place where GMs run tables for players to enjoy isn't quite out there yet, as far as I know. Maybe something to do with volunteer stuff for organized play?
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I can't imagine a world where players would pay for a GM to come to their house and run a game for them.
Do you mean that you don't believe it is a profession, or that you know it exists and still have trouble believing it? Having a professional GM come to your house and GM (for hundreds of dollars) is definitely a thing.
It’s a Living: Meet One of New York’s Best Professional D&D Dungeon Masters
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What were some of the campaign setting design goals with the release of 2E? (For example, "Reinforce the idea Absalom was the center of the Inner Sea.")
Also, is it okay for me to ask these sorts of questions, or are they classified? I've been reading Designers and Dragons, and the sections about Paizo strategy and manager meetings are fascinating.
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I can't imagine a world where players would pay for a GM to come to their house and run a game for them.Do you mean that you don't believe it is a profession, or that you know it exists and still have trouble believing it? Having a professional GM come to your house and GM (for hundreds of dollars) is definitely a thing.
It’s a Living: Meet One of New York’s Best Professional D&D Dungeon Masters
Well then it looks like you've done more research than I have on the topic, so I'm not sure what more insight I can provide.
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Some more questions trying to get clear on how the time travel aspects of Return of the Runelords works (I'll ask them all in the same comment because I think some of the answers might be connected).
1) The early adventures give the impression of a special role for the Oliphaunt of Jandaley - e.g. the "runelord legacy" section in Secrets of Roderick's Cove talks about the Oliphaunt's arrival as the thing Alaznist is waiting for, and Runeplague's introduction says that Alaznist alters the timeline in seven places and *in addition* brings the Oliphaunt forward. But by book 6, the Oliphaunt's being brought forward is just one of Alaznist's interventions, and not even the most significant (from a PC perspective). Is this just the AP evolving in the design process, or is there something going on in-world?
2) In Runeplague, Ayavah's vision has the PCs and Sorshen facing off against the Oliphaunt - but the PCs actually meet the Oliphaunt while Sorshen is still in the Everdawn Pool. Again, is that intentional, or just AP design evolution?
3) Secrets of Hollow Mountain seems to imply that the PCs are now in the alternate timeline created by Alaznist's manipulations, but they still remember the old timeline because their own future actions insulate them. And that seems compatible with Runeplague and Temple of the Peacock Spirit - especially with Xanderghul's worry about time being changed. But then in book 6 it turns out that Sorshen is trapped in the Everdawn Pool in the alternate timeline, so that her simulacrum couldn't be present (unless the simulacrum could have escaped the Everdawn Pool while the real Sorshen stays trapped? - but that doesn't seem to fit what book 6 says) and similarly the Sihedron doesn't exist in the alternate timeline, so that the Sihedron Council couldn't know about it. That seems to imply that the PCs are in the old timeline (but remembering the new timeline) until they emerge from Crystilan in book 6
- but then, how is that to be reconciled with Xanderghul's knowledge that history...
Please repost these as individual questions, one per post. It's easier for me to manage the answers here if I don't have to navigate long walls of text and can take on one question at a time, due to the way this site handles quoting text.
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Creative Director
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What were some of the campaign setting design goals with the release of 2E? (For example, "Reinforce the idea Absalom was the center of the Inner Sea.")
Also, is it okay for me to ask these sorts of questions, or are they classified? I've been reading Designers and Dragons, and the sections about Paizo strategy and manager meetings are fascinating.
Ask all the questions you want; if something's classified or (more often) not yet something we've done any thought on, I'll say so.
The goal of the focus for 2nd edition was indeed to shift to shine a light more squarely on Absalom, and to present the setting in an easier-to-summarize format; thus, ten regions rather than over 40 nations.
Well then it looks like you've done more research than I have on the topic, so I'm not sure what more insight I can provide.I can't imagine a world where players would pay for a GM to come to their house and run a game for them.Do you mean that you don't believe it is a profession, or that you know it exists and still have trouble believing it? Having a professional GM come to your house and GM (for hundreds of dollars) is definitely a thing.
It’s a Living: Meet One of New York’s Best Professional D&D Dungeon Masters
I certainly must thank Crognus for those links, but I asked cause I've never been in an industry before where people actually interact significantly with that industry beyond the task before them (for example, as a security guard I never see, meet, or talk with guards from other places nor get training/info updates on what's happening in the world of security) while you not only interact with your customers, you also get at least exposed to what other rpgs are doing. But most importantly, events for gaming and fundraising, and I'd guess might actually know a little bit about establishing a company both business wise and in branding (I might be wrong but I'm under the Impression that Paizo is a small company and you were there when it started). Heck, I don't even do social media (this forum is the closest I've ever gotten).
So from any of those perspectives that might apply to you, I'll listen to any advice I can get.
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I forget if I've asked this, but what the hell-
Do you have a favorite Lovecraft collaboration?
(That is, stories like "The Horror at Saint Martin's Beach," or "The Curse of Yig," etc.)
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I forget if I've asked this, but what the hell-
Do you have a favorite Lovecraft collaboration?
(That is, stories like "The Horror at Saint Martin's Beach," or "The Curse of Yig," etc.)
I do. "The Mound." It's pretty much the primary inspiration for Golarion's Darklands, and for that matter, I suspect it also helped inspire a big part of D&D's Underdark as well back in the day—I know Gygax read lots of Lovecraft, for example...
"Out of the Aeons" is a close second though.
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Three small questions.
Is there a redemption date for Nocticula? Maybe one her worshipers celebrate?
How common are embassies in golarion? Would magnimar have something like a new embassies war where ravounel, sargava, new Thassilon, and whatever the river kingdoms nations is? Just wondering.
Is it posted anywhere how grask uldeth died?
Even for small questions it's best to limit them to one per post, please. I can quickly answer all three here since they all fit in the quote reply window and I'm on a computer where scrolling through text is less tricky than I was last night when a larger multi question post hit... but still ... Going forward please limit to one question per post.
There would be some sort of date but we haven't figured it out yet.
Quite common. Settlements of 10,000 or more usually have a few. And settlements below that might as well.
Not that I'm aware of.