Creative Director
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Dear Mr Jacobs
Could you please have the "Ultimate Races" Wish List thread renamed to "Advanced Races Guide" Wish List.
Signed AZ
I can't do that. It's been too long. You'll need to ask Ross or Gary or Vic.
James,
It says in the Inner Sea World Guide that each Runelord was associated with one of seven schools of rune magic. What were these schools? Are they somehow tied to the current nine, assuming they aren't the same?
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Creative Director
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James,
It says in the Inner Sea World Guide that each Runelord was associated with one of seven schools of rune magic. What were these schools? Are they somehow tied to the current nine, assuming they aren't the same?
The seven schools of Thassilonian magic were detailed heavily in Rise of the Runelords; they'll also be detailed in the upcoming Inner Sea Magic.
Basically, the seven schools are as follows:
Greed = transmutation
Lust = enchantment
Wrath = evocation
Pride = illusion
Gluttony = necromancy
Sloth = conjuration
Envy = abjuration
Close runners up:
1) Revealing the map of Tian Xia.
2) Revealing the art for the first few Jade Regent covers.
3) Running Call of Cthulhu and running Unspeakable Futures.
4) Meeting Clark Peterson.
5) Chatting with freelancers and fans.
6) Signing a 4th edition D&D book (the Demonomicon). Ha!
Dear Mr. Jacobs,
any chance of seeing the map of Tian Xia as a preview in one of the blogs befor the release of the Jade Regent AP?
Many thanks in advance!
Hi James--
Knowing what you do about the content of Paizo's Campaign Setting/Player Companion products, if you were planning to run Rise of the Runelords, what additional material beyond the Adventure Path itself would you consider useful or interesting for a GM?
For instance, would Classic Monsters Revisited be worth reading to spark off additional ideas about the goblin and ogre antagonists in the early parts of the AP? What about the upcoming Goblins of Golarion? Is there useful material to further expand upon Lamashtu in Faiths of Corruption? How about rune magic from Inner Sea Magic?
I particularly enjoy finding disparate pieces of information from multiple sources and collating them into a coherent whole, so no list you can provide me will be too big in terms of effort. In terms of my wallet...eh, we'll see how it goes. ; )
--Mike
James,
It says in the Inner Sea World Guide that each Runelord was associated with one of seven schools of rune magic. What were these schools? Are they somehow tied to the current nine, assuming they aren't the same?The seven schools of Thassilonian magic were detailed heavily in Rise of the Runelords; they'll also be detailed in the upcoming Inner Sea Magic.
Basically, the seven schools are as follows:
Greed = transmutation
Lust = enchantment
Wrath = evocation
Pride = illusion
Gluttony = necromancy
Sloth = conjuration
Envy = abjuration
Thanks James!! Kinda figured they were in Rise, but I wasn't positive. I haven't yet picked up any APs, but I've been really thinking about getting them more lately as I wanna learn more about Golarion. Don't even care if I run or play in them, I like to learn! Lol
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Creative Director
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Dear Mr. Jacobs,
any chance of seeing the map of Tian Xia as a preview in one of the blogs befor the release of the Jade Regent AP?
Many thanks in advance!
There's certainly a chance... but there's a vast difference between holding a map up in a 50 person seminar and putting it online forever and ever...
We'll see.
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Creative Director
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Knowing what you do about the content of Paizo's Campaign Setting/Player Companion products, if you were planning to run Rise of the Runelords, what additional material beyond the Adventure Path itself would you consider useful or interesting for a GM?
For instance, would Classic Monsters Revisited be worth reading to spark off additional ideas about the goblin and ogre antagonists in the early parts of the AP? What about the upcoming Goblins of Golarion? Is there useful material to further expand upon Lamashtu in Faiths of Corruption? How about rune magic from Inner Sea Magic?
I particularly enjoy finding disparate pieces of information from multiple sources and collating them into a coherent whole, so no list you can provide me will be too big in terms of effort. In terms of my wallet...eh, we'll see how it goes. ; )
--Mike
Honestly... Rise of the Runelords is pretty self-contained. The APs are generally meant to be, but with Runelords, it's more so than normal since we didn't really have other book lines active to support that particular AP.
The books you list will certainly help in adding additional information to the game, as will Jade Regent #1 and We Be Goblins (especially if the PCs want to side-trek into Brinestump Marsh). There's a few tidbits that'll probably help with the Lamashtu elements in Lords of Chaos. There's an article on post-Runelords Xin-Shalast in Lost Cities of Golarion that might help as well.
Mr Jacobs
Can you please at least confirm, if these oriental creatures are being put into any currently listed books that Paizo is publishing or the possibility of being in future books:
Amanojaku (not well known in the west, but hey worth a shot, first encountered it in a manga call: "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" and it is in Japanese folklore),
Inugami (dog god/demon),
Nurarihyon (the leader of the night parade of youkai, should be present), and
Yuki-onna (Very well known,appears in various supernatural manga and anime)
James, I want to bone up on my Golarian background knowledge and lore; what single Paizo product would you recommend as a starting point? I know there are bits and pieces all through publications including the APs, but I'm looking for a reasonably concentrated source make sure I have a good base.
James, I want to start boning up on my Golarian background knowledge and lore; what single Paizo product would you recommend as a starting point? I know there are bits and pieces all through publications including the APs, but I'm looking for a reasonably concentrated source make sure I have a good base.
Not James
but I think the "Inner Sea World Guide" would be a good start.
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James, I want to start boning up on my Golarian background knowledge and lore; what single Paizo product would you recommend as a starting point? I know there are bits and pieces all through publications including the APs, but I'm looking for a reasonably concentrated source make sure I have a good base.Not James
but I think the "Inner Sea World Guide" would be a good start.
Also not James, but I concur. Or you could try here.
I was considering Inner Sea Guide, but does it include any references to other continents or planets? I understand that most of the content that has been put out has been for the Inner Sea region, but what is out there that includes the outlying regions if the Inner Sea Guide doesn't?
David, thanks for the link. I'll start browsing there as time allows. :)
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Creative Director
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Mr Jacobs
Can you please at least confirm, if these oriental creatures are being put into any currently listed books that Paizo is publishing or the possibility of being in future books:Amanojaku (not well known in the west, but hey worth a shot, first encountered it in a manga call: "Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan" and it is in Japanese folklore),
Inugami (dog god/demon),
Nurarihyon (the leader of the night parade of youkai, should be present), and
Yuki-onna (Very well known,appears in various supernatural manga and anime)
Can't confirm or deny any of that. It's too soon to do any of that type of talk.
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Creative Director
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James, I want to bone up on my Golarian background knowledge and lore; what single Paizo product would you recommend as a starting point? I know there are bits and pieces all through publications including the APs, but I'm looking for a reasonably concentrated source make sure I have a good base.
Inner Sea World Guide.
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Creative Director
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I was considering Inner Sea Guide, but does it include any references to other continents or planets?
Yes, it does.
If you're looking for more info about the planets, check out Pathfinder #14.
If you're looking for more info about other continents, Inner Sea World Guide remains your best bet for now.
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So how have you managed to survive going so long without doing a demon AP? Or are you Demon'd out? Seemed like in Dungeon they were prevalent in a good chunk of adventures and AP storylines, to the point where my homebrew is centered around demons as the main villains because it was so easy to find adventures about em ;).
Last one I can think of for PF was Demon Within (and obviously Book of the Damned Vol 2)
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Creative Director
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So how have you managed to survive going so long without doing a demon AP? Or are you Demon'd out? Seemed like in Dungeon they were prevalent in a good chunk of adventures and AP storylines, to the point where my homebrew is centered around demons as the main villains because it was so easy to find adventures about em ;).
Last one I can think of for PF was Demon Within (and obviously Book of the Damned Vol 2)
The third AP I did, Savage Tide, back in Dungeon Magazine, was VERY demon filled. In fact, I'd say it was one of the most demon-filled campaigns that was ever published for D&D overall.
As a result, we specifically skewed away from heavy demon content in Adventure Paths, but we've done very few APs where there wasn't a demonic element in it at all. The Lamashtu elements in Burnt Offerings have a fair amount of demon stuff, for one, and there's a bit more demon stuff in Serpent's Skull. Jade Regent's first adventure also has a little bit of demon stuff in it (but it's pretty subtle, as far as demons go).
Second Darkness is probably the MOST demonic any of our APs have gotten—there's actually a fair amount of demonic elements in that one.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
If so, would it contain some nice goodies for players to use as demon-blooded characters and against demon creatures.
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As a result, we specifically skewed away from heavy demon content in Adventure Paths, but we've done very few APs where there wasn't a demonic element in it at all. The Lamashtu elements in Burnt Offerings have a fair amount of demon stuff, for one, and there's a bit more demon stuff in Serpent's Skull. Jade Regent's first adventure also has a little bit of demon stuff in it (but it's pretty subtle, as far as demons go).
Second Darkness is probably the MOST demonic any of our APs have gotten—there's actually a fair amount of demonic elements in that one.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
This is my subtle (and now not so subtle) way of pushing for a Mendev AP ;)
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Creative Director
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If so, would it contain some nice goodies for players to use as demon-blooded characters and against demon creatures.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
Of a thousand different awesome demon-AP support articles, those would certainly be 2 options... but I suspect we'd skew toward world-building and GM-support material rather than PC support material in an Adventure Path.
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Creative Director
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This is my subtle (and now not so subtle) way of pushing for a Mendev AP ;)As a result, we specifically skewed away from heavy demon content in Adventure Paths, but we've done very few APs where there wasn't a demonic element in it at all. The Lamashtu elements in Burnt Offerings have a fair amount of demon stuff, for one, and there's a bit more demon stuff in Serpent's Skull. Jade Regent's first adventure also has a little bit of demon stuff in it (but it's pretty subtle, as far as demons go).
Second Darkness is probably the MOST demonic any of our APs have gotten—there's actually a fair amount of demonic elements in that one.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
There are other demon-infested sites as well, of course—doesn't have to be a Mendev AP at all. Could be a Kyonin/Tanglebriar one. Could be a Lost Coast one. Could be a Darklands one. Could be a Mwangi one. All four of those are also demonic activity hotbeds.
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Yuki-onna (Very well known,appears in various supernatural manga and anime)
It's not a yuki-onna, but it's could be used as such, mechanically, if you have need of such.
There are other demon-infested sites as well, of course—doesn't have to be a Mendev AP at all. Could be a Kyonin/Tanglebriar one. Could be a Lost Coast one. Could be a Darklands one. Could be a Mwangi one. All four of those are also demonic activity hotbeds.This is my subtle (and now not so subtle) way of pushing for a Mendev AP ;)As a result, we specifically skewed away from heavy demon content in Adventure Paths, but we've done very few APs where there wasn't a demonic element in it at all. The Lamashtu elements in Burnt Offerings have a fair amount of demon stuff, for one, and there's a bit more demon stuff in Serpent's Skull. Jade Regent's first adventure also has a little bit of demon stuff in it (but it's pretty subtle, as far as demons go).
Second Darkness is probably the MOST demonic any of our APs have gotten—there's actually a fair amount of demonic elements in that one.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
Seems to me that AP#11 would be a cool place to do a demon one. My prediction for the AP that starts at GenCon 2012.
Of a thousand different awesome demon-AP support articles, those would certainly be 2 options... but I suspect we'd skew toward world-building and GM-support material rather than PC support material in an Adventure Path.If so, would it contain some nice goodies for players to use as demon-blooded characters and against demon creatures.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
The first Council of Thieves had some player material.
James,
I would like to contribute towards a Pathfinder psionics book and have been working on restructuring for some time. I think the first issue is going nova (this only happens at 9th level and higher that is why so many people have different thoughts regarding if "going nova is a problem or not). I have addressed this issue by raising the PP cost for higher level powers (this then requires augmentations to be reworked, but that is a topic for another day) at 9th level you will pay 25 PP instead of 17, overall this will raise PP by about 100 at 20th level. The math should not be much more difficult than adjusting HP for a high constitution monster.
What else do you believe would need tweaking?
How could I get involved in a future project?
I am contemplating starting a thread and revealing some of my ideas and answering any questions regarding such changes.
I am contemplating starting a thread and revealing some of my ideas and answering any questions regarding such changes.
I am not James, but I suggest starting the thread. I don't take any designer seriously if they are not willing to make their ideas public — excluding only those who are being paid to design and have a release date.
If you are really serious about getting in on a published product, you should submit to PFS open calls, RPG superstar, and try to get published work, then land a position at a game company interested in working on a psionics product (which could be Paizo by that point, who knows). It's sort of a long shot, though.
Also, check out Dreamscarred Press's Psionics release, I hear that one is pretty good.
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James,
I would like to contribute towards a Pathfinder psionics book and have been working on restructuring for some time. I think the first issue is going nova (this only happens at 9th level and higher that is why so many people have different thoughts regarding if "going nova is a problem or not). I have addressed this issue by raising the PP cost for higher level powers (this then requires augmentations to be reworked, but that is a topic for another day) at 9th level you will pay 25 PP instead of 17, overall this will raise PP by about 100 at 20th level. The math should not be much more difficult than adjusting HP for a high constitution monster.
What else do you believe would need tweaking?
How could I get involved in a future project?
I am contemplating starting a thread and revealing some of my ideas and answering any questions regarding such changes.
James has said he doubts any Paizo Psionics will even use power points.
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Creative Director
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The first Council of Thieves had some player material.Of a thousand different awesome demon-AP support articles, those would certainly be 2 options... but I suspect we'd skew toward world-building and GM-support material rather than PC support material in an Adventure Path.If so, would it contain some nice goodies for players to use as demon-blooded characters and against demon creatures.
As for a full-on demon-themed AP? I suspect we'll do one of those eventually.
ALL adventure paths have player material, if only in the two deity articles that pop up. So there's obviously exceptions.
But since we're not even currently working on a demon-themed Adventure Path, arguing semantics like this is kind of a waste of time.
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Creative Director
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James,
I would like to contribute towards a Pathfinder psionics book and have been working on restructuring for some time. I think the first issue is going nova (this only happens at 9th level and higher that is why so many people have different thoughts regarding if "going nova is a problem or not). I have addressed this issue by raising the PP cost for higher level powers (this then requires augmentations to be reworked, but that is a topic for another day) at 9th level you will pay 25 PP instead of 17, overall this will raise PP by about 100 at 20th level. The math should not be much more difficult than adjusting HP for a high constitution monster.
What else do you believe would need tweaking?
How could I get involved in a future project?
I am contemplating starting a thread and revealing some of my ideas and answering any questions regarding such changes.
When and if Paizo decides to do something with psionics, we'll be handling it pretty much entirely in-house, using some freelancers to create some of the support material (said freelancers being chosen by us from those we've worked with before and whom we trust to do the job right).
Regarding what needs adjustment from the 3.5 incarnation of psionics, I'd say pretty much all of it. It'd be a complete revision and overhaul, from the classes on down to the powers themselves.
As for how to get involved in the project... you basically need to be an established Pathfinder freelancer when we decide to start working on it, which means you should start now by taking part in RPG superstar, start pitching scenario ideas for the Pathfinder Society to Mark Moreland, and start submitting ideas to other publishers like Open Design and the like. Start building up your experience and portfolio, and if we like what we see, we might just start asking you to work on bigger projects. There's a LOT of competition in that area, though.
Time is still on your side though. We're probably still a year or two from seriously contemplating what we'd like to do with the topic.
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Creative Director
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James has said he doubts any Paizo Psionics will even use power points.James,
I would like to contribute towards a Pathfinder psionics book and have been working on restructuring for some time. I think the first issue is going nova (this only happens at 9th level and higher that is why so many people have different thoughts regarding if "going nova is a problem or not). I have addressed this issue by raising the PP cost for higher level powers (this then requires augmentations to be reworked, but that is a topic for another day) at 9th level you will pay 25 PP instead of 17, overall this will raise PP by about 100 at 20th level. The math should not be much more difficult than adjusting HP for a high constitution monster.
What else do you believe would need tweaking?
How could I get involved in a future project?
I am contemplating starting a thread and revealing some of my ideas and answering any questions regarding such changes.
This is correct.
We already have a functional system for handling magic, which is what psionics would be in a Paizo psionics book. That means psionics would be handled just like spells. Probably a lot like how spontaneous casters work.
This is, of course, a HUGE departure from how psionics have worked in the past, and that's one reason we're so hesitant about doing much with psionics.
Fortunately, the game's open. And that means folks like the ones at Dreamscarred can step in and do some good work on psionics instead.
My DM keeps saying talking in combat is a free action whenever I try to interrupt a villain that is doing a monologue. How long do I have to sit and listen to said villain before I can interrupt with an arrow to the throat?
That gives me an amusing idea. Now to phrase it as a question for James... (cuz I am not going to start a whole thread)
James, would you ever print a villain monologue with symbols in it (*s or †s) that indicate how many rounds have passed by that point in the monologue? I imagine a certain kind of player would get a smug satisfaction out of ending the speech early, and it could be structured as a kind of repartee. So... cool or lame?
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Chief Technical Officer
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My DM keeps saying talking in combat is a free action whenever I try to interrupt a villain that is doing a monologue. How long do I have to sit and listen to said villain before I can interrupt with an arrow to the throat?
The way he is putting it, I can hold up combat for an entire session of I wanted to go into a speech and no one can stop me because it is not their turn in the initiative.
Back in Crimson Throne, I actually had to sit there for about ten minutes as a villain had a back and forth. Dm kept telling me to wait even though my round was next. Essentially what happened was a player dropped the hp low enough that the encounter is considered over, so the enemy started talking.
An encounter, however, should not be declared over until all participants agree. Otherwise someone could just say "Done" and walk away from a demon without any retaliation.
The rules say "In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action."
I'd say "How much you can say in about six seconds?"
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Creative Director
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My DM keeps saying talking in combat is a free action whenever I try to interrupt a villain that is doing a monologue. How long do I have to sit and listen to said villain before I can interrupt with an arrow to the throat?
You have to wait until your GM is done being long-winded. If your GM doesn't want to adjust to your character's impatience or ill-manners (perhaps because that monologue is designed to give you key bits of information you might need to finish your adventure), then you don't really have a choice.
Back in Crimson Throne, I actually had to sit there for about ten minutes as a villain had a back and forth. Dm kept telling me to wait even though my round was next. Essentially what happened was a player dropped the hp low enough that the encounter is considered over, so the enemy started talking.
An encounter, however, should not be declared over until all participants agree. Otherwise someone could just say "Done" and walk away from a demon without any retaliation.
Again, your GM gets to decide that. If he really wants to basically halt the game for 10 minutes so he can do a solo acting act, he gets to do that. If that bores the PCs, let him know that you'd rather be gaming than listening to him talk. If he doesn't change his practices to speed things up and you're still hating it... there's always the option to bail on the game, I guess.
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Creative Director
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James, would you ever print a villain monologue with symbols in it (*s or †s) that indicate how many rounds have passed by that point in the monologue? I imagine a certain kind of player would get a smug satisfaction out of ending the speech early, and it could be structured as a kind of repartee. So... cool or lame?
Nope. I prefer instead to keep villain monologues, when I DO print them (which is actually pretty rare), short and sweet.
If an NPC (villain or whatever) has a lot of dialogue to give the PCs, I generally present that not as read-aloud text but as a series of question/answer type entries to allow and encourage the GM to let the PCs take part in the conversation.
My DM keeps saying talking in combat is a free action whenever I try to interrupt a villain that is doing a monologue. How long do I have to sit and listen to said villain before I can interrupt with an arrow to the throat?
The way he is putting it, I can hold up combat for an entire session of I wanted to go into a speech and no one can stop me because it is not their turn in the initiative.
Back in Crimson Throne, I actually had to sit there for about ten minutes as a villain had a back and forth. Dm kept telling me to wait even though my round was next. Essentially what happened was a player dropped the hp low enough that the encounter is considered over, so the enemy started talking.
An encounter, however, should not be declared over until all participants agree. Otherwise someone could just say "Done" and walk away from a demon without any retaliation.
The rules say "In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action."
I'd say "How much you can say in about six seconds?"
Most communication spells allow 25 words or less per round.
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Creative Director
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In the situation though, my character was next in turn order and he was in a berserk rage. So, logically, he would not stop and wait to listen just because the enemy says to hold on a moment. By the way, the enemy in crimson throne was ** spoiler omitted ** But yeah, after attacking us, I doubt someone that was berserk would stop and hear them out. After the npc was done talking for 10 minutes, not exaggerating on the time, he asked what I wanted to do since it was my turn. I said "Well I would have cut them off after six seconds with my axe but you kept telling me to wait. I kept asking if I could do something every two minutes and you said to hold on." So yeah james, he wouldn't even hear me out for what I wanted to do until it was too late.
That's not a problem with rules, then. That's a problem with your GM, and that's not something any amount of rules can address.
Why is it that my Cats will only do something funny when my digital camera is on charge, but when it's fully charged, they just laze around the house demanding belly-rubs and pork-liver treats?
Name a neutral or evil deity that would qualify for the ale/wine variant channeling from Ultimate Magic.
So James, after getting a preview of "We Be Goblins" as prep for running it at Free RPG Day, here's a question for you: We know that you feel that the Jade Regent AP will be well-suited to heroic characters... but what about a party of goblins? =]
Why is it that my Cats will only do something funny when my digital camera is on charge, but when it's fully charged, they just laze around the house demanding belly-rubs and pork-liver treats?
I would withhold the bellyrubs and pork-liver treats until their compliance came in-line.
Take back your life! Down with Feline Oppression!
This message brought to you by the Canine Council of America.
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Creative Director
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Will we ever see an AP with a storm giant were-tyrannosaurus?
Doubtful. As neat as that might seem, it's also VERY "wahoo."
A storm giant is already pretty outlandish and neat and exciting. There's not really any reason to go over the top and make him a lycanthrope as well, especially since there's just not a lot of real world justification in myths and tales and stories about were-tyrannosauruses.
The author of such an NPC would have to justify it with some INCREDIBLY well-done writing, and even then there's an excellent chance I'll just say, "Just make it a storm giant druid."
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Creative Director
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So James, after getting a preview of "We Be Goblins" as prep for running it at Free RPG Day, here's a question for you: We know that you feel that the Jade Regent AP will be well-suited to heroic characters... but what about a party of goblins? =]
Heh... no.
Goblins, including those in "We Be Goblins," are best when they're evil.
In fact, there ARE goblin heroes—that's a category of goblin we've had in the world since Pathfinder AP #1. But a goblin hero isn't someone who's heroic—a goblin hero is basically a goblin that's achieved 2nd level or higher in a PC class. They're often things like arsonists, cannibals, murderers, or baby-eaters.