Creative Director
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Hi James, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Here's mine: what is the relative power balance these days in Magnimar among religious institutions, governmental entities, and mercantile Houses?
Pretty much the same as it was in 1st edition; with the exception of a different Lord Mayor, the Magnimar book itself is pretty much still fine.
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Creative Director
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How much do you expect future Golarion content to assume the “canonical” ending to adventure paths?
E.g. if in someone’s local version of Golarion the PCs kill Belimarius, or don’t ascend Casandalee, or set someone other than Tessa Fairwinds up as Hurricane King, or someone other than Anastasia up as Queen of Irrisen, will that be a problem for future content, or are these choices going to stay in the background?
(Those are all intended to be plausible examples of how an AP might go down - as opposed to, say, killing Sorshen or allying with the Technic League.)
Won't be a problem for us, but some GMs will need to either adjust the published adventure or reset their game's events. For the most part, we'll be avoiding stepping on the toes of previous AP events... but not always. Age of Ashes makes assumptions about Hell's Rebels, for example.
But we can't and won't be trying to avoid stories we want to tell for fear that someone's game may have gone left when we assume they go right.
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Proposed adjustment to bring 3rd party class "shadow assassin" to par with new unchained rogue/ninja
1) get finesae training as rogue
2) additional shadow style option: knife master
A) with daggers only get weapon focus feat and increase crit range to 18-20
B) if selected a 2nd time bring multiplier to x3 (dagger only)
3) thw shadow assassin has access to rogue/ninja talents/tricks with "shadow or darkness" descriptor as well ad "combat trick"Is this a reasonable boost?
Shadow assassin has exotix weapon style but i wanted to also have a talent for someone wanting to use daggers (simple weapons)
Thanks :)
Sorry, I try not to provide design feedback here, both for time management and to prevent folks from taking my replies out of context. This sort of question is better asked elsewhere on the boards here so you can get feedback from the whole site rather than just me, anyway.
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Hi James, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Here's mine: what is the relative power balance these days in Magnimar among religious institutions, governmental entities, and mercantile Houses?Pretty much the same as it was in 1st edition; with the exception of a different Lord Mayor, the Magnimar book itself is pretty much still fine.
Semi-related question: how did the events of Second Darkness and Return of the Runelords affect Clegg Zincher's grip on 1) organized bloodsport and 2) organized labor in Riddleport? If it is weakened, who's stepped into the vacuum in these sectors?
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Creative Director
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Semi-related question: how did the events of Second Darkness and Return of the Runelords affect Clegg Zincher's grip on 1) organized bloodsport and 2) organized labor in Riddleport? If it is weakened, who's stepped into the vacuum in these sectors?Hi James, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Here's mine: what is the relative power balance these days in Magnimar among religious institutions, governmental entities, and mercantile Houses?Pretty much the same as it was in 1st edition; with the exception of a different Lord Mayor, the Magnimar book itself is pretty much still fine.
Haven't had to decide yet, but if I did RIGHT NOW I'd say that the PCs' aid to him helped him get back up on his feet and he's building his power base back up now.
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Looking at my river analogy; it doesn't matter if buckets are being taken away by people with plots, or if "buckets" are just vanishing on their own without any mind directing them; the inevitable end result is the same.
Considering that, what does Pharasma think of Galt's soul-trapping Final Blades?
AKA: I'm assuming you've heard that we're doing a giant Kingmaker compilation, in other words.
If you can speak to it, is the compilation going to be influenced by, or directly adapt, any of the new/revised content in the Owlcat CRPG?
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Creative Director
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Looking at my river analogy; it doesn't matter if buckets are being taken away by people with plots, or if "buckets" are just vanishing on their own without any mind directing them; the inevitable end result is the same.Considering that, what does Pharasma think of Galt's soul-trapping Final Blades?
She's not a fan, but those things have been around for barely a blink of the eye as far as she's concerned. There's always been soul trapping stuff in the multiverse. Undeath is worse, but mostly because it's more widespread and harder to stop in most cases. But the church certainly has some folks who specialize in seeking out methods to free souls that are trapped, and there's certainly some out there that are plotting to take out the Final Blades. That's not a story we've yet really started to explore yet (and we might never explore it), so details aren't yet set in stone... or really even all that thought out or invented yet.
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AKA: I'm assuming you've heard that we're doing a giant Kingmaker compilation, in other words.If you can speak to it, is the compilation going to be influenced by, or directly adapt, any of the new/revised content in the Owlcat CRPG?
It was a crowdfunded project—click here to check out the details.
The short version is that it's the largest compilation we've ever attempted—the main adventure path book is the size of the 2nd edition Core Rulebook, with another 128 page hardcover exploring companions and camping and environment stuff. It incorporates a fair amount of the additional content that Owlcat added into the computer game, although adapted to work for a party of PCs at the tabletop versus one player at a computer, and also includes some brand new never-before seen content.
Hey James
Do all souls have to be judged first or could someone like Sarenrae step in and claim one?
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Creative Director
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Hey James
Do all souls have to be judged first or could someone like Sarenrae step in and claim one?
They get judged first. There are soul poachers who grab them out of the Boneyard or the River of Souls before then, but those are things like astradaemons or night hags that are predators.
Deities don't do this.
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Creative Director
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That is basically my question. Do you not see value in mechanics designed to be used as language instead of as a method of play?That's language, but not story.So you don't see rules being used as language? As in mechanics that can be used to simply and quickly communicate details even if they lack attached flavor?
(example, how strong a character is, is more easily answered via a strength score than it is by describing every time how far between The Hulk and a local gym bodybuilder)
I do see the value, yes. We're talking past each other, I think.
Have you ever used cursed items as a GM? I like the idea in abstract, but when I think of "giving" one to the PCs it just seems like punishment.
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Creative Director
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Have you ever used cursed items as a GM? I like the idea in abstract, but when I think of "giving" one to the PCs it just seems like punishment.
All the time, but never as traps to punish PCs. Instead, I use them to further the story along or to create challenges for the PCs to overcome.
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Hi James!
Lorewise, why can ghosts retain non-evil alignments where other undead can’t?
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In Siege of Stone, I saw in an excerpt that the dwarf Karburtin is a romantic interest though not into physical relationships. So is he a romantic asexual?
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Creative Director
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Hi James!
Lorewise, why can ghosts retain non-evil alignments where other undead can’t?
All undead could potentially be non-evil. It's just rare. Just off the top of my head, we've published non-evil vampires, mummies, and ghouls before. And there's a few specifically non-evil undead in the upcoming Bestiary 2... at least one that I can think of off the top of my head.
And of course ghosts. Ghosts are the most common undead to not be evil, since the way they're created is 100% story driven, and not every ghost story is about a bad ghost. For monsters, my favorite go-to place for inspiration is stories from other authors that I enjoy, and for ghosts, there are a LOT of compelling non-evil ghost stories out there. More than for other types of undead, really.
In-world, ghosts can more often be any alignment becasue the reason they become ghosts is intimate and personal and based entirely on the circumstances of how the poor soul died. A person who died with an unfinished crime might come back as an evil one, but a person who died in an accidental fall on the eve of their wedding wouldn't be evil; they'd just be sad.
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In Siege of Stone, I saw in an excerpt that the dwarf Karburtin is a romantic interest though not into physical relationships. So is he a romantic asexual?
I wasn't involved in that product's writing or development, but that certainly sounds like it to me.
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How do you handle charms and compulsions on the players? What is it like to be under a charm or compulsion effect?
On a case by case basis. For charms, I usually work with the player and let them control their character but tell them where to adjust their choices as needed to comply with the charm. For tougher things like dominate, I take full control of their choices but let them make all the rolls.
Regardless of the situation, I generally try not to have these effects last for a long time; if they do, I let them "simmer" in the background until key points. It's no fun for a player to not have control of their character, after all. Many times, I'll be a bit more permissive in allowing players additional attempts to throw off the control with additional Will saves. Might mean that the effect lasts less long in-game than it would have, but the goal is to keep having fun for everyone.
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Creative Director
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Hello sir, i write to you today to ask a question involving whips, attacks of opportunity, the ruling under the equipment section regarding reach weapons, and the feat "improved whip mastery"...
Hi there, and welcome to the forums! Alas, I don't answer rules questions on this thread—rules questions are best asked on the core rulebook thread where others, including the design team, are more likely to see them.
My general advice for rules questions if you need them resolved quickly is to chat with your GM, though!
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I notice that troglodytes and serpentfolk both once ruled vast empires during the Age of Legends and worship a Chaotic Evil patron deity, but are now in decline. What are some of the differences between the two people?
Serpentfolk are more powerful overall, and less "faith-centric" than were the xulghath societies. The serpentfolk empire once encompassed all of Sekamina, and indeed that was the name of their empire in ancient times, whereas the xulghaths never quite managed anything on that scale.
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Why not? (Watsonian reasons only, please.)Were the slaveowners in Ravounel and Vidrian compensated for the loss of their property by the revolutionary governments?Nope.
Because there weren't enough slave owners in either nation who remained in positions of power after the revolutions took place. Those who once owned slaves before the revolution and who are still in those nations released their slaves during the revolution and became part of the solution, rather than the problem, and have accepted the fact that they're taking a hit to their finances in shifting from slaves to paid employees.
There are some who did not accept this, but they're underground/hidden/secret slavers who are forced to live criminal lives now and can't openly show off their slaves or boast of being a slaver without being brought to justice.
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I notice that troglodytes and serpentfolk both once ruled vast empires during the Age of Legends and worship a Chaotic Evil patron deity, but are now in decline. What are some of the differences between the two people?Serpentfolk are more powerful overall, and less "faith-centric" than were the xulghath societies. The serpentfolk empire once encompassed all of Sekamina, and indeed that was the name of their empire in ancient times, whereas the xulghaths never quite managed anything on that scale.
How does each view the other?
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How does each view the other?I notice that troglodytes and serpentfolk both once ruled vast empires during the Age of Legends and worship a Chaotic Evil patron deity, but are now in decline. What are some of the differences between the two people?Serpentfolk are more powerful overall, and less "faith-centric" than were the xulghath societies. The serpentfolk empire once encompassed all of Sekamina, and indeed that was the name of their empire in ancient times, whereas the xulghaths never quite managed anything on that scale.
Serpentfolk viewed the xulgaths as pests and insignificant rabble. Xulgaths viewed the serpentfolk with fear and respect.
Which Golarion deity might a character thank for the first cup of coffee in the morning?
After reading much of the material in Tyrant's Grasp and the few issues of Extinction Curse, it is more and more clear that Aroden was more than a little bit of a jerk and bigot. How is it that he attracted/retained good heralds like Arazni and Iomedae? And, assuming she didn't already figure it out, was Iomedae aghast when she discovered some of the things Aroden had done (as his worshippers would have had to shift to her good alignment and she did not conform to his neutral)?
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What, in your opinion, is the best way to address word origins that have a very specific real-world context that wouldn't apply to Golarion/the Pact Worlds (i.e. "How can the class be called 'Mesmerist' if there's no Franz Mesmer on Golarion?" or "How can your Starfinder character play a "saxophone" if the Pact Worlds have never heard of Adolphe Sax, the guy who invented them?")?
Apart from, you know, pointing out the only reason someone would bring up such a thing is pedantry for pedantry's sake...
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After reading much of the material in Tyrant's Grasp and the few issues of Extinction Curse, it is more and more clear that Aroden was more than a little bit of a jerk and bigot. How is it that he attracted/retained good heralds like Arazni and Iomedae? And, assuming she didn't already figure it out, was Iomedae aghast when she discovered some of the things Aroden had done (as his worshippers would have had to shift to her good alignment and she did not conform to his neutral)?
Rembember, Aroden was not lawful good. He was lawful neutral. He wasn't the nicest guy in the group, not by a long shot.
He was also the god of humanity, and I like to think that humanity tends toward goodness and not evil. That you see more good worshipers of him than evil ones is us being optimistic about the human condition, and trying to show that with a sub-par leader, you can do better. It's also a case of characters like Iomedae seeing what their "boss" did and realizing he wasn't perfect and striving to do better; the webfiction I wrote about Iomedae covered this bit.
I suppose that so many folks forgetting Aroden was neutral and not good is something we can all take as a bit of shared optimism about humans naturally wanting to be good and not evil.
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what is it like from the character's perspective?How do you handle charms and compulsions on the players? What is it like to be under a charm or compulsion effect?On a case by case basis. For charms, I usually work with the player and let them control their character but tell them where to adjust their choices as needed to comply with the charm. For tougher things like dominate, I take full control of their choices but let them make all the rolls.
Regardless of the situation, I generally try not to have these effects last for a long time; if they do, I let them "simmer" in the background until key points. It's no fun for a player to not have control of their character, after all. Many times, I'll be a bit more permissive in allowing players additional attempts to throw off the control with additional Will saves. Might mean that the effect lasts less long in-game than it would have, but the goal is to keep having fun for everyone.
Like being violated down to their core. It's an awful and humiliating and traumatic experience. The first season of Netflix's "Jessica Jones" does the best I've ever seen in exploring how mind control is an invasive and horrific assault on your freedom and personality.
Think about every movie or story you've read that involves someone with mind control powers. Let me know if you can come up with any that portray the mind controller as anything other than a monster or a villain. It's tough to come up with examples; I'm sure the internet can do so, but that won't change the fact that having your freedom of choice taken away is awful and destructive.
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What, in your opinion, is the best way to address word origins that have a very specific real-world context that wouldn't apply to Golarion/the Pact Worlds (i.e. "How can the class be called 'Mesmerist' if there's no Franz Mesmer on Golarion?" or "How can your Starfinder character play a "saxophone" if the Pact Worlds have never heard of Adolphe Sax, the guy who invented them?")?
Apart from, you know, pointing out the only reason someone would bring up such a thing is pedantry for pedantry's sake...
The best way is to not address it. We have to write this book in a language that you and I can understand it. That means that often we'll have to make specific choices about what words we do and don't want to use, in cases like this.
Mesmerist is a great word for what it does, so we stuck with it. By that same definition, we stuck with the word "earthquake," even though Golarion is not called "Earth", because calling it the "elemental plane of Golarion" or even "Golarionquake" sounds goofy and is confusing.
Likewise, the word tyrannosaurus is a Latin word but it's one that everyone understands, and we can't say "no Latin words" and then use French words like "tarrasque," or heck, even English words like "dog." In cases like this, where the word has a commonly-understood definition, we just use it and ignore the issue of the word's origin.
The word "christening" or "christened" is not one we use; it does break that barrier in my opinion, so we avoid it and instead use words like "named" or "called" or the like.
Think of it this way: if we published the game in a language native to Golarion, the words would be different. ALL of the words. None of us would be able to read them, though, so what's the point?
Have you watched any of the Castlevania animation on Netflix?I saw one episode, or at least part of one episode. Wasn't really into it and never went back.
fyi: some of the stuff appears heavily influenced by Pathfinder... especially seasons 2 and 3..
BTW: Would an intelligent dancing weapon rise to defend their sleeping and/or helpless/bound owner?
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Have you watched any of the Castlevania animation on Netflix?I saw one episode, or at least part of one episode. Wasn't really into it and never went back.fyi: some of the stuff appears heavily influenced by Pathfinder... especially seasons 2 and 3..
BTW: Would an intelligent dancing weapon rise to defend their sleeping and/or helpless/bound owner?
That perception of influence might be as much due to the fact that Castlevania was a huge influence on Wes Schneider, who himself had a very strong guiding hand in the creation of Golarion.
An intelligent dancing weapon rising to defend an owner on its own is strictly in the realm of GM fiat. I'd say that the more an intelligent magic item is treated in play as an NPC rather than a belonging, the more likely it is to make sense for it to have its own agency and thus rise up to save someone.
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Like being violated down to their core. It's an awful and humiliating and traumatic experience. The first season of Netflix's "Jessica Jones" does the best I've ever seen in exploring how mind control is an invasive and horrific assault on your freedom and personality.
Think about every movie or story you've read that involves someone with mind control powers. Let me know if you can come up with any that portray the mind controller as anything other than a monster or a villain. It's tough to come up with examples; I'm sure the internet can do so, but that won't change the fact that having your freedom of choice taken away is awful and destructive.
Not what I meant. I mean what is it like? What do they see, what do they perceive?
Even a pleasant experience being controlled to do things the victim believes in could still seem violating and traumatic after the fact simply from the intellectual understanding that they were controlled. Heck people feel that way simply from being tricked or manipulated in the real world without any magic at all.
Charm effects can easily be described that way, a charm spell seems like nothing more than a charming personality, the target not noticing a different emotional response than normal.
Compulsions however, are not so simply translated. Those failing to quit some addiction probably could relate the best to a compulsion, but I've never seen nor experienced that sort of thing.
And given that it's magic, these types of spells may not be anything like real experiences.
Is domination something where you are trapped in a body that moves on it's own, or are the perceptions altered so they see enemies instead of friends, or something else?
Is charm something that definitely would be noticed, or is it a subtle influence that could go unnoticed even after it wears off, the target believing the caster was just charming, persuasive, and attractive?
Charm is more subtle, and tricks the person into thinking they're making their own choices when they're not. Dominate is not subtle; you're trapped in your body and can do nothing but "watch" as you do things you can't control.