I asked this already, but it seems to have been missed in all the other questions (many by me too heh. So, I thought I might ask again in case you just missed it)
Two related questions....
1. What was the first PATHFINDER (as in not Dungeons and Dragons 3.5) Adventure Path?
2. How come Second Darkness and Legacy of Fire Player's Guides had actual books and aren't free PDFs like the rest of them?
Creative Director
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I just finished to read "City of Strangers" and I wonder if, someday, Kaer Maga could make an appearance in an AP. Not in an entire AP but maybe in one or two volumes, slightly in the same way you did with Scuttlecove in the Savage tide AP.
That would certainly be pretty nifty, wouldn't it?
In other news, the AP we're launching at next Gen Con, "The Shattered Star" AP, is set entirely in Varisia. Which is also the region that Kare Maga is set.
Just sayin'.
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Creative Director
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I just finished to read "City of Strangers" and I wonder if, someday, Kaer Maga could make an appearance in an AP. Not in an entire AP but maybe in one or two volumes, slightly in the same way you did with Scuttlecove in the Savage tide AP.Well, Knightfever might restrain it but I will go further:
Is a megadungeon AP still on the short list?
Is Kaer Maga on the short list of settings for said hypothetical AP?
Kare Maga is already being developed as a megadungeon. "Seven Swords of Sin" and "The Godsmouth Heresy" are both levels under Kaer Maga. We'll be doing more.
As for a Megadungeion AP... that's still on the possible list. It'd be stupid to NOT keep it on the list, since it's one of the most requested AP plotlines.
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Creative Director
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Litany of Righteousness
It is an Inquisitor and Paladin only spell, but a Inquisitor dont have a aura which is needed. Is it right a Inquisitor MUST multiclass to use it?
That spell should have probably have been made a cleric spell instead of an inquisitor spell. It's probably worth flagging as errata or something.
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Creative Director
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1)Why aren't elementals immune to disease, sickened, or Nausiated conditions?
2)why aren't Angels, Demons, Devils, and many other powerful outsiders immune to diseases or at least non-magical ones?
3)Is there any culture on Golarian who's language and/or culture is like the French?
4)Are there any more creatures from myth/old D@D that you guys made into a player race like the Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, and Undine?
5)If Gnomes can't crossbreed with other races/cretues then how do they become sorcerers? Why did you guys decide this anyway?
6)Are there any spells to bring one's familiar back to life? if not then why not?
7)Why didn't undine get waterbreathing? Why didn't Oreads get +1 natural armor(-2 dex maybe as well)?
8)Have you seen The Justice league(2001-2005), Teen titans, Young justice, or the Avengers cartoon? is so what did you think?
9)Why is the Wendigo so high a CR? I just don't see this guy being stronger than Scylla, Charibdus, most dragons, and it can create more of it's kind. Why not have made it a template?
10)Where on Golarion did the Lamia originate from?
1) Because of a creative/logical oversight made back in the design of 3rd edition, I guess; it's a weird quirk of the rules that just never got "fixed." In fact, "immune to disease" was almost NEVER something that showed up in monsters in 3rd edition; I believe that the only monster in the entire Monster Manual that had this ability as a specific special defense was the half-celestial. If you want to make elementals immune to disease and sickness and nausea, that's not a bad house rule... just let your players know ASAP! ALSO they're already immune to a lot... making them immune to one more thing might be the proverbial last straw in some opinions.
2) Because they're still living creatures, and as such should still be able to be affected by disease.
3) Not specifically. There are some subtle French-flavored elements in Galt, but Galt's not intended to be "fantasy France." For the most part, most of Europe (France, Spain, England, Germany, etc.) is assumed to be the "baseline," and you should be able to find elements of those cultures pretty much spread throughout ALL of Avistan... just not overly so in any one area.
4) Yup; there's several in Bestiary 3.
5) You can gain a sorcerer bloodline in a lot more ways then just having an ancestor with that bloodline. In fact, I suspect a fair amount of sorcerer bloodlines arise from magical influences in the sorcerer's own past or her family's past. Sorcerers are basically the "superheroes" of Pathfinder, in other words. If Spiderman were a sorcerer, he might have the "arachnid bloodline." If the Hulk were a sorcerer, he might have the "berserker bloodline." And so on. Powerful magical effects can alter a character's DNA/bloodline as well as anything else, and for a race like gnomes, who have a powerful magical racial history... that's probably how it USUALLY happens. And we haven't officially said what races can and can't have children in print—that's something that each GM gets to decide for his game. For Golarion, though, we decide that, even though we don't put it in print (because if we did, it'd be a lot of clutter, for one thing).
6) Yup. Raise dead, resurrection, true resurrection, breath of life, and any other spell that can bring a creature back to life can do the same for familiars.
7) Becasue waterbreathing and natural armor are too tough to give out races we want to keep balanced as PC player options in that fairly narrow power band between tiefling and human. And because races like oreads and undines are more human than they are outsider.
8) Nope; haven't seen it.
9) Because Greg Vaughn, who designed the Pathfinder wendigo, did so when he was building a high-level adventure ("Spires of Xin-Shalast") and thus needed a tough monster. And because we have a shortage of high CR monsters. And because I already designed a template version of the Wendigo for Wizards of the Coast's Fiend Folio back in the day, and I didn't want to ape that design since it's THEIR wendigo (you can still use this template in your games, of course).
10) Depending on the myth, either Pharasma or Lamashtu.
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Creative Director
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I asked this already, but it seems to have been missed in all the other questions (many by me too heh. So, I thought I might ask again in case you just missed it)
Two related questions....
1. What was the first PATHFINDER (as in not Dungeons and Dragons 3.5) Adventure Path?
2. How come Second Darkness and Legacy of Fire Player's Guides had actual books and aren't free PDFs like the rest of them?
1) Council of Thieves. Pathfinder #25.
2) Because we were still figuring out the best way to present that information to people. When we published them, we gave free PDFs to all of the people who had active subscriptions to those APs at that time, so if you were there at launch, you got the PDFs for those player's guides for free. Since then, we decided to go to a PDF only format so that we could keep them for free forever.
That spell should have probably have been made a cleric spell instead of an inquisitor spell. It's probably worth flagging as errata or something.Litany of Righteousness
It is an Inquisitor and Paladin only spell, but a Inquisitor dont have a aura which is needed. Is it right a Inquisitor MUST multiclass to use it?
All Litanys are Inquisitor and Paladin spells. I think u should just delete the aura sentence :D
"The Shattered Star" AP, is set entirely in Varisia. Which is also the region that Kare Maga is set.
Just sayin'.
YES!
James, some Golarion specific questions for you:
1) Is the rate of expansion of The Worldwound measurable or is it too gradual of a change to notice (i.e. in a geologic timescale)?
2) Is the 'corruption' of the Sarkora River diluted when it merges with the West Sellen River, or do the contaminants continue downstream into Numeria?
3) In terms of game mechanics, are there specific diseases or curses that can be contracted when coming into contact with the Sarkora or the West Sellen Rivers?
4) Am I correct in assuming that the standardization of coinage as the accepted form of exchange and buying power for the Inner Sea region is backed by the value of the metal in the coins themselves? If so, what is to keep spellcasters from 'creating' more coins (i.e. lead into gold), thereby driving a steady rate of inflation?
Dear Mr. Jacobs
How do you pronounce Kyonin?
Is it reasonable to allow the ifrit, sylph, oread, and undine to apply their Elemental Affinity to the appropriate genie sorcerous bloodlines from Ultimate Magic?
I can't see much potential for cheese, apart from maybe something with Eldritch Heritage and the elemental bloodlines, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.
My group has a player who wants to go the magic route of Nex, person not country. General; I want to be "magic" or any tips? maybe an Eric Mona question, but there is no thread for that ;)
Dear James Jacobs,
How was / is your vacation?
8)Do have a Favorite Charlie brown special? Favorite of those old stop motion specials like Rudolph?
9)Favorite Christmas special? Favorite Holloween special? Favorite other holiday special?
8) Nope. But I love the Christmas special with the Abominable Snowman... up until he turns into a good guy. That part sucked.
9) See above; has to do with Abominable Snowmen. Favorite Halloween special = "Halloween." HA. Actually, beyond "Rudolph vs. the Abominable Snowman," I don't really recall much in the way of greatness in the holiday special category.
Does this mean that you haven't seen The Nightmare Before Christmas? Because then you should. It is pure, undiluted awesome (which translates into an 8.0 at imdb).
2) Because we were still figuring out the best way to present that information to people. When we published them, we gave free PDFs to all of the people who had active subscriptions to those APs at that time, so if you were there at launch, you got the PDFs for those player's guides for free. Since then, we decided to go to a PDF only format so that we could keep them for free forever.
And in the case of the Legacy of Fire, a lot (all?) of people who'd downloaded a paizo-product also got it for free. For which I say, mucho gusto!
5) You can gain a sorcerer bloodline in a lot more ways then just having an ancestor with that bloodline. In fact, I suspect a fair amount of sorcerer bloodlines arise from magical influences in the sorcerer's own past or her family's past. Sorcerers are basically the "superheroes" of Pathfinder, in other words. If Spiderman were a sorcerer, he might have the "arachnid bloodline." If the Hulk were a sorcerer, he might have the "berserker bloodline." And so on. Powerful magical effects can alter a character's DNA/bloodline as well as anything else, and for a race like gnomes, who have a powerful magical racial history... that's probably how it USUALLY happens. And we haven't officially said what races can and can't have children in print—that's something that each GM gets to decide for his game. For Golarion, though, we decide that, even though we don't put it in print (because if we did, it'd be a lot of clutter, for one thing).
I knew there was a reason I lurk this thread. I really like this analogy.
All Litanys are Inquisitor and Paladin spells. I think u should just delete the aura sentence :DThat spell should have probably have been made a cleric spell instead of an inquisitor spell. It's probably worth flagging as errata or something.Litany of Righteousness
It is an Inquisitor and Paladin only spell, but a Inquisitor dont have a aura which is needed. Is it right a Inquisitor MUST multiclass to use it?
Sometimes they make Cleric/Inquisitor multiclass things on purpose, like with the Channeling Scourge feat from Ultimate Combat (which is missing a comma in the prereqs, but still). I'm not saying that you can't submit it as errata; I'm just saying that it might not get changed, since it might be working as intended.
ETA: Ah, that wasn't a question. So... what do you think of multiclass-specific features? Hate, love, nice as a spice but not a main dish? Ever written any?
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No I get that and it made sense for my dwarf from the mana wastes, but is there a feat anywhere that can enhance pre-existing natural spell resistance? Because it feels like the only way SR can be any good is if it is on par with how much a dark elf gets.
No; we don't give out SR via a feat. It's too powerful.
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Creative Director
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1) Is the rate of expansion of The Worldwound measurable or is it too gradual of a change to notice (i.e. in a geologic timescale)?
2) Is the 'corruption' of the Sarkora River diluted when it merges with the West Sellen River, or do the contaminants continue downstream into Numeria?
3) In terms of game mechanics, are there specific diseases or curses that can be contracted when coming into contact with the Sarkora or the West Sellen Rivers?
4) Am I correct in assuming that the standardization of coinage as the accepted form of exchange and buying power for the Inner Sea region is backed by the value of the metal in the coins themselves? If so, what is to keep spellcasters from 'creating' more coins (i.e. lead into gold), thereby driving a steady rate of inflation?
1) The Worldwound's rate of expansion is erratic; sudden increases separated by years or even decades. When it DOES expand, though, it's noticeable.
2) Yes. That river's corruption does not flow far "downstream." It's not like dirt or silt. It's supernatural and doesn't much care for mere water currents.
3) Yes. We've actually taken a stab at the corruption and disease in the Worldwound in a few previous products... but never in a way that I felt did the region justice, so we're letting that info lie fallow for a while before we go back there and do a full-on update/expansion of what it's like to live in the Worldwound.
4) What "creates" spellcasters from creating more coins is that the magic necessary to create permanent coins is VERY powerful. Turning "lead into gold" requires an artifact (the philosopher's stone or a super-high level alchemist—while those can result in one spellcaster getting super rich... they're high level and already super rich. And it's small-scale enough that it doesn't really disrupt trade. An effect that suddenly increases the amount of gold or silver or copper or platinum in the world and that causes a huge shift in regional economy would have to be a major plot of an Adventure Path; it's not a bad idea, actually... but the world at "neutral" with no big events going on doesn't have to worry about it.
James,
If you were to go back in time and make any changes to the books that were put out before you and Erik took tighter control over Golarion lore, what would that be? We know of some changes (dragons, Paladins of Asmodeus, Darklight Sisterhood), but I'm very curious if there are any more "retcons" to the early books (Dragons Revisited, Korvosa/Absalom/Darkmoon Vale) you would like to make?
What is "Darklight Sisterhood"?
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Is it reasonable to allow the ifrit, sylph, oread, and undine to apply their Elemental Affinity to the appropriate genie sorcerous bloodlines from Ultimate Magic?
I can't see much potential for cheese, apart from maybe something with Eldritch Heritage and the elemental bloodlines, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.
Not a bad house rule, I guess... I'd set it up as a feat for those races in order to keep things balanced though.
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Creative Director
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My group has a player who wants to go the magic route of Nex, person not country. General; I want to be "magic" or any tips? maybe an Eric Mona question, but there is no thread for that ;)
The magic rout of "Nex" is relatively unclear at this point... but Nex is certainly beyond 20th level. The best way to "Nex" your character is basically just to get super powerful.
We might reveal more about Nex some day in the future, but for now there's not a lot of info about him.
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Does this mean that you haven't seen The Nightmare Before Christmas? Because then you should. It is pure, undiluted awesome (which translates into an 8.0 at imdb).8)Do have a Favorite Charlie brown special? Favorite of those old stop motion specials like Rudolph?
9)Favorite Christmas special? Favorite Holloween special? Favorite other holiday special?
8) Nope. But I love the Christmas special with the Abominable Snowman... up until he turns into a good guy. That part sucked.
9) See above; has to do with Abominable Snowmen. Favorite Halloween special = "Halloween." HA. Actually, beyond "Rudolph vs. the Abominable Snowman," I don't really recall much in the way of greatness in the holiday special category.
I have indeed seen The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it's a movie with some unfortunate musical numbers lodged in it, not a special.
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Creative Director
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While artifacts can't be destroyed other than by special conditions, can they be damaged and given the broken condition?
No. At least, not by most mortal effects. There are a few super high level spells (like mage's disjunction) that can hurt artifacts, but for the most part they're more or less indestructible by things other than what actually damages/destroys them.
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What is "Darklight Sisterhood"?James,
If you were to go back in time and make any changes to the books that were put out before you and Erik took tighter control over Golarion lore, what would that be? We know of some changes (dragons, Paladins of Asmodeus, Darklight Sisterhood), but I'm very curious if there are any more "retcons" to the early books (Dragons Revisited, Korvosa/Absalom/Darkmoon Vale) you would like to make?
An older group we tinkered with in the campaign setting's early days that ended up not fitting the world's flavor for various reasons, so we abandoned the concept.
Hi James--
Edge of Anarchy (PF#7) states that Grau Soldado was born in Sandpoint and 'fled an alcoholic and abusive father at an early age'. Who was his father and what role did he have to play in Sandpoint?
--Mike
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Hi James--
Edge of Anarchy (PF#7) states that Grau Soldado was born in Sandpoint and 'fled an alcoholic and abusive father at an early age'. Who was his father and what role did he have to play in Sandpoint?
--Mike
I'm not sure we ever revealed who the father's identity was—he might have been one of Chopper's victims though. I'd have to go sift through my old notes at the office for the timeline (if they still exist) to be sure, though.
I'm not sure we ever revealed who the father's identity was—he might have been one of Chopper's victims though. I'd have to go sift through my old notes at the office for the timeline (if they still exist) to be sure, though.Hi James--
Edge of Anarchy (PF#7) states that Grau Soldado was born in Sandpoint and 'fled an alcoholic and abusive father at an early age'. Who was his father and what role did he have to play in Sandpoint?
--Mike
Thanks James. I am running Rise of the Runelords in November and have a PC with a similar origin story (abusive, alcoholic father) who is a Sandpoint local, so thought I might try to work it in as a bit of a tie-in (we are already playing through Curse of the Crimson Throne with another one of us GMing).
Hope you're still enjoying your holiday. : )
--Mike
Hi James,
Have you ever played any of the incarnations of Paranoia? If so, did you enjoy it, and if not, is it something you'd ever be interested in trying?
Dear James Jacobs,
Does firing both barrels of a double-barreled firearm count as a single attack or as two attacks for the purpose of making attacks?
For example, as a 7th Level Gunslinger (whose reloading action has been reduced to a free action with feats / deeds / cartridges), can I:
Load Barrel 1, Load Barrel 2
Fire both (BAB 7) + (-4 double barrel shot) + (Dex + Enhancement)
Load Barrel 1, Load Barrel 2
Fire Both (BAB 2) +(-4 double barrel shot) + (Dex + Enhancement)
Basically, does firing both shots in a double barrel firearm count as one attack or two for the purpose of determining attacks per round, based on your base attack bonus, feats like rapid shot, etc?
James,
In Golarion, when applied to standard damage wounds (i.e not from debilitating curses, diseases, or special damage attacks) does healing magic (whether from spells or items) leave scarring after the wound is healed?
What about Fast Healing or alchemical items?
Can we expect a Gamemastery Item Card release for Ultimate Equipment or have you guys pretty much decided to stick with the 'Adventure Path only Item Cards' formula?
Not a bad house rule, I guess... I'd set it up as a feat for those races in order to keep things balanced though.Is it reasonable to allow the ifrit, sylph, oread, and undine to apply their Elemental Affinity to the appropriate genie sorcerous bloodlines from Ultimate Magic?
I can't see much potential for cheese, apart from maybe something with Eldritch Heritage and the elemental bloodlines, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.
Seems like it'd make a good Alternate Racial Trait for the new book?
I posted a list of monsters thought to be in the Beastairy 3 but was told by F. Wesley Schneider that the list was roughly 85% accurate. I gues some creatures that were said to be in there didn't make the final cut.
1)Would you guys ever design animals that are unigue to Golarion and are still of the animal type?
2)How would you feal about there being some more light based spells such damage dealing ones,new prismatic spells, blinding blast of color, creating solid light contructs like a rainbow bridge or weapons and armor made of light, etc.? particularly around 3th-6th spells
3)How would you feel about special materials that are some kind of crystal or crystal like substance, green plant matter(not wood), modern plastics(as hard as steal but flexible),rubber, ceramics, etc.
4)What do you think is really at the end of a rainbow?
5)Are there any lakes on Golarion that are famous for a lake monster like lochnes, Ogopogo, etc.? What is the most haunted house/castle in Golarion?
6)Where on Golarion is the presence of the first world the strongest?
7)Of all the new races from the Beastairy 2 wich is the one you like to play the most?
8)What is your favorite animal to use as a familiar? what is your favorite creature to have with the improved familiar feat?
9)How would you feal about some more "wall" spells like wood, water, sand, bones, light, shadow, positive energy, negative energy, electricity, sound, crystal, glass, swarms, etc.?
10)When will see some more specialized summoning spells like for Fey, Dinosaurs, Elementals, Magical beast, Plants, Azatas, etc.?
Hay James,
I was thinking of writing up an archetype for a "Numerian Machinist" and an archetype for the "Eagle Knights" for my home pathfinder game.
I was thinking the Numerian Machinist could go off of Wizard or Alchemist and have abilities like recharging batteries for Numerian tech and maybe something with constructs.
For the Eagle Knight I'm not sure where to go with the archetype but I know I want to represent all 3 branches of the Eagle knights in the archetype. Maybe use Fighter or Cavalier as the base.
can you offer any suggestions on designing these archetypes?
Thank you in advance.
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Hi James,
Have you ever played any of the incarnations of Paranoia? If so, did you enjoy it, and if not, is it something you'd ever be interested in trying?
I played the game once. Not sure what edition; whatever was the one around in the early 90s. It was... okay. The type of game I enjoyed playing once, but not one I'd need to ever play again.
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Creative Director
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Dear James Jacobs,
Does firing both barrels of a double-barreled firearm count as a single attack or as two attacks for the purpose of making attacks?
For example, as a 7th Level Gunslinger (whose reloading action has been reduced to a free action with feats / deeds / cartridges), can I:
Load Barrel 1, Load Barrel 2
Fire both (BAB 7) + (-4 double barrel shot) + (Dex + Enhancement)
Load Barrel 1, Load Barrel 2
Fire Both (BAB 2) +(-4 double barrel shot) + (Dex + Enhancement)Basically, does firing both shots in a double barrel firearm count as one attack or two for the purpose of determining attacks per round, based on your base attack bonus, feats like rapid shot, etc?
Firing both barrels counts as a single attack.
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Creative Director
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James,
In Golarion, when applied to standard damage wounds (i.e not from debilitating curses, diseases, or special damage attacks) does healing magic (whether from spells or items) leave scarring after the wound is healed?
What about Fast Healing or alchemical items?
Can we expect a Gamemastery Item Card release for Ultimate Equipment or have you guys pretty much decided to stick with the 'Adventure Path only Item Cards' formula?
Wounds leave scars if they're allowed to heal without magical healing. Magical healing leaves no scar behind, but once a scar forms, it can't be removed by mere magical healing.
Fast healing and regeneration both avoid scars as well, but alchemical items that provide healing DO leave scars.
We're pretty much sticking with the item cards linking up to the Adventure Paths these days... although a LOT of the eastern weapons and armor will be showing up in the Jade Regent set.
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Seems like it'd make a good Alternate Racial Trait for the new book?Not a bad house rule, I guess... I'd set it up as a feat for those races in order to keep things balanced though.Is it reasonable to allow the ifrit, sylph, oread, and undine to apply their Elemental Affinity to the appropriate genie sorcerous bloodlines from Ultimate Magic?
I can't see much potential for cheese, apart from maybe something with Eldritch Heritage and the elemental bloodlines, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.
Maybe. Although those sections have already been written by someone other than you or me, so if something like that DOES end up in there, it's a case of parallel design.
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Creative Director
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I posted a list of monsters thought to be in the Beastairy 3 but was told by F. Wesley Schneider that the list was roughly 85% accurate. I gues some creatures that were said to be in there didn't make the final cut.
1)Would you guys ever design animals that are unigue to Golarion and are still of the animal type?
2)How would you feal about there being some more light based spells such damage dealing ones,new prismatic spells, blinding blast of color, creating solid light contructs like a rainbow bridge or weapons and armor made of light, etc.? particularly around 3th-6th spells
3)How would you feel about special materials that are some kind of crystal or crystal like substance, green plant matter(not wood), modern plastics(as hard as steal but flexible),rubber, ceramics, etc.
4)What do you think is really at the end of a rainbow?
5)Are there any lakes on Golarion that are famous for a lake monster like lochnes, Ogopogo, etc.? What is the most haunted house/castle in Golarion?
6)Where on Golarion is the presence of the first world the strongest?
7)Of all the new races from the Beastairy 2 wich is the one you like to play the most?
8)What is your favorite animal to use as a familiar? what is your favorite creature to have with the improved familiar feat?
9)How would you feal about some more "wall" spells like wood, water, sand, bones, light, shadow, positive energy, negative energy, electricity, sound, crystal, glass, swarms, etc.?
10)When will see some more specialized summoning spells like for Fey, Dinosaurs, Elementals, Magical beast, Plants, Azatas, etc.?
1) Yes. Donkey rats are an excellent example of this.
2) If the spells were good and creative spells, I'd feel good about it. If they were boring or merely dull adaptations of existing spells, I'd be annoyed.
3) New special materials are cool... as long as they're tied to an in-world reason why they haven't been talked about before. Things like plastic or rubber or other things would be best introduced as part of a different game... or at the very least, a different campaign setting.
4) Science.
5) Yup; the Storval Deep in Varisia comes immediately to mind, which is said to be the den of a lake monster called Black Magga. As for the "most haunted location," I'm not sure. I generally don't nail those down, since some day I might want to do an even more haunted one.
6) Again... I don't like using hyperbolie until I'm SURE I won't be contradicting myself. The First World is certainly strong along the Brevoy/River Kingdoms border, and in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, and in a few other areas... but I'm not gonna say it's strongest at any one point yet.
7) Probably an ifrit.
8) Lizard. Pseudodragon.
9) See my answer to #2 above.
10) Dunno.