yada yada, and I said no but got overruled, yada yada.
And therein lies your problem.
If you, as GM, are getting overruled, then that's the problem. If rules arguments between player and GM devolve into shouting matches then that's the moment the game has ended. The moment you as GM no longer hold the ban hammer is the moment you cease to be GM.
If your players want to fight you over your calls then show them the door. That's what it's for. Invite them back when they're willing to play. Willing, not just wanting. If they decide they're not going to be willing to accept a GM judgment then they're not willing to play.
My guess is that it's not really all that useful a feat, honestly. Theres a bazillion feats to choose from. Just don't pick that one when you're making a crossbow user.What is the meaning of this feat (from UC), as a crossbow don't give any penality for firing when prone :
Prone Shooter wrote:
While prone, you use the ground to stabilize your aim while using a crossbow or firearm.Prerequisites: Weapon Focus (crossbow or firearm), base attack bonus +1.
Benefit: If you have been prone since the end of your last turn, you can ignore the penalty the prone condition imposes on ranged attack rolls you make using a crossbow or firearm with which you have Weapon Focus.
If you are in a combat that mostly consists of ranged attacks, being prone offers the advantage of adding 4 to your Armor Class against ranged attacks. If you plan in being in a lot of shoot outs as either a Crossbower or a Gunslinger, and you plan on being prone a lot in said shoot outs, then that Feat suddenly has merit.
As for my Question:
What sort of Character are you thinking about making for this PFO game that everyone is talking about?
Creative Director
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Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?
I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
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Neat. I hadn't really thought too much about number three, but it makes total sense. Thanks James!James, what do you think are the five most important skills for someone aspiring to work in the table-top RPG industry to develop/have?In order:
1) Skill at writing with good spelling, good grammar, and most importantly, evocative writing that is fun to read.
2) Humility.
3) Some sort of specialization in some area OTHER than writing, be it history or archeology or meteorology or genetics or whatever... something you can bring to a company that builds worlds that they might not have access to.
4) A really kick-ass imagination.
5) Conviction, self-confidence, and passion for game design.
It's huge. We've got people at Paizo who have training in linguistics, anthropology, chemistry, architecture, and lots, lots more, and those skills are SUPER convenient for all sorts of reasons.
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Creative Director
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What sort of Character are you thinking about making for this PFO game that everyone is talking about?
I'm not thinking about it at all yet since the game isn't yet at a point where I can make those decisions.
My HOPE is that I get to take charge of Merisiel and that I get some sort of powerful GM type abilities to wreak havoc, though.
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I'm not thinking about it at all yet since the game isn't yet at a point where I can make those decisions.
My HOPE is that I get to take charge of Merisiel and that I get some sort of powerful GM type abilities to wreak havoc, though.
This idea of Paizo Staff occasional logging into the PFO server or servers to play as the Iconic Characters, or to run GMed events when the whim strikes them is truly rock star.
Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
It wouldn't have to be after Shattered Star, it could be the GenCon 2013 AP. ;)
I guess the easies solution is: Get someone else to be the GM so you can be the player.
The harder solution is practice, practice, practice. And hand-pick your players if you can for personalities that work better with your preferred style of GMing. If you're not strong on rules, avoid rules layers, for example.
The BEST solution is to talk with your players and establish some house rules or table rules—something like, "When I'm GMing, I need you to respect my decisions. I welcome rules discussions AFTER the game so that I can learn the rules better, but I'd rather not derail the game when it's in progress to argue rules." If players aren't willing to give you that respect and understanding, they should find another GM.
My players always know I'm willing to listen to their interpretation on the rules. However, I we play together once a week, and we play in two different campaigns every other week, so if there's a dispute that can't be solved in 30 seconds, it's a mutual agreement that my interpretation wins out and after our game's over, the player is more than welcome to try and support their claim and debuke me. If they're right, they're right and we play that way from then on.
As GM, I personally believe that you put more work into the game; GMs usually end up buying the bulk of the books and supplements, preparing the adventure path that is going to be run, or building the world that will be played in. If your players can't give you the respect to treat your time and each other's time wisely, then you either need to chat with them or simply drop them. As they say, it's usually MUCH harder to find a GM then it is to find players.
Is your presentation of Merisiel Sillvari's personality in the Crypt of the Everflame journal and in Ask Merisiel the official personality for the character?
To Kelsey, consider being a GM like being a Director of a movie. Usually there is only one Director of the entire movie and several actors. If an actor isn't playing ball...they can be replaced. There are several other actors available, but usually very few directors who could take over for a project that is already going on.
Also, be decisive. Just because Player A says "On page blah blah blah..." doesn't mean you can't counter with "Great, NEXT TIME it will go that way but for simplicity we'll do it MY WAY". As others said before, if they don't like it show them the door. There is always another actor.
To James:
Are you going to play the next WoW expansion?
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Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
So I can be rest assured that there is indeed an irrisen AP after Shattered Star. Thanks James :)
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Hey, James
I love Pathfinder artwork and I was wondering will Paizo ever release a copendium book with only artwork? Having a picture book where it's just all artwork would be cool. (not saying that the artwork in the AP's or core books is bad just saying that I would love to see more!) Sorry if this question has been asked before.
Hey, James
I love Pathfinder artwork and I was wondering will Paizo ever release a copendium book with only artwork? Having a picture book where it's just all artwork would be cool. (not saying that the artwork in the AP's or core books is bad just saying that I would love to see more!) Sorry if this question has been asked before.
Not a book, and not James, but here's some more art:
This idea of Paizo Staff occasional logging into the PFO server or servers to play as the Iconic Characters, or to run GMed events when the whim strikes them is truly rock star.I'm not thinking about it at all yet since the game isn't yet at a point where I can make those decisions.
My HOPE is that I get to take charge of Merisiel and that I get some sort of powerful GM type abilities to wreak havoc, though.
JACOBS: "Hey guys, anyone know what the office meeting is for?"
BULHMAN: "Sure do, James! Have a seat."JACOBS: "Wayne? What are you doing here?"
WAYNE: *shrugs*
STEVENS: "Now that Pathfinder Online is going to be out soon, it's time for the most important decision in the design process."
REYNOLDS: "Oh?"
STEVENS: "We're going to be programming the iconic characters from the RPG Line into the game as GM Characters. They'll be fully killable to preserve immersion Therefore, in order to make sure that such a thing DOESN'T happen on fair grounds, we've started this mandatory 'Learning to Play Pathfinder Online Like a Champion' meetings every Monday Morning."
JACOBS: "... Lisa?"
STEVENS: "Yes, James?"
JACOBS: "I NEED Merisiel! Give me Merisiel!"
STEVENS: "Would you take a pay cut for it?"
JACOBS: "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!"
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Hey, James
I love Pathfinder artwork and I was wondering will Paizo ever release a copendium book with only artwork? Having a picture book where it's just all artwork would be cool. (not saying that the artwork in the AP's or core books is bad just saying that I would love to see more!) Sorry if this question has been asked before.
Not a book, and not James, but here's some more art:
OMG thanks for the link aha made my night!
I've not yet read all the way through Advanced Player's Guide, and I've barely even looked in Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic beyond looking at the specific concepts that I need for building things like the Jade Regent Adventure Path.
*looks at (Creative Director)*
*looks at post*My head asplode.
On the occasions that I play (and with all the important NPCs in my homebrew stuff) I start with a cool rules mechanic in combat and build a character around it, regardless of the efficiency. Being a GM, of course, I have a bit more freedom to toss absurd foes at my players.
From trip fighters to melee sorcs (Arcane Strike!) to a cavalier's mount pulling a gnome-operated ballista, some of the most awesome fights are inspired by the shiny new mechanics you guys crank out!
.........My HOPE is that I get to take charge of Merisiel and that I get some sort of powerful GM type abilities to wreak havoc, though.
*Sudden mental image of a Elf Rogue in black and red leather armor rampaging through a town of Dwarves and Half-Orcs on the back of a Tyrannosaur mount. ...... with the guild tag <Iconic> above her head.*
Flavor text: Gospel or open to interpretation?
I realize that "what constitutes "Flavor Text?" also comes to mind.
with the guild tag <Iconic> above her head.*
Which tag will be shorthand for "get the hell out of the way to a convenient spot to watch in awe what this character does."
How do I know YOU'RE not the one hacking MY hard drive?Since I was just writing it for myself and possibly other players in my own gaming group, I'd have stolen the exact details if I'd been hacking your hard drive. A cleric of Shelyn is a better match for Ameiko than an Irorite Paladin anyway. It seems less likely the relationship would have remained unconsummated, but that wasn't necessarily essential to my story anyway (though the fact that Beldis really wasn't that good a match did play into it a little after the part I quoted -- Ameiko kind of talked herself into falling for him in part because she thought he'd be acceptable to her father, with whom she still hoped for a reconciliation).
In any case, parallel design is always weird. But in cases like this, where two different people develop a character from the same baseline, not all THAT weird. There's a lot in what's been said about Varisia and Ameiko that kind of naturally suggests certain routes for character development, and when you get two people who just happen to have similar tastes or writing styles or interests... chances of parallel design go though the roof.
True, and there was that tantalizing bit in Burnt Offerings about Ameiko having lost her taste for adventure because of something that happened to her during her last adventure. A lost love fit with where I wanted my PC's relationship with her to go, which, for his own reasons, the DM approved. It made the Suicidal Compulsion haunt particularly effective -- we figured out fairly early in our exploration of The Misgivings that the best way to deal with the haunts was to send the squishy wizard in first, after the other characters had a devil of a time grappling our tank of a Shoanti fighter to keep him from acting out the Worried Wife haunt. It also came into play in the raid on Sandpoint at the start of Fortress of the Stone Giants -- the giant that tried to carry Ameiko off quickly decided that pissing off a ninth-level Evoker with Overland Flight and a CL 11 Wand of Scorching Ray is far more painful than any prisoner is worth.
That Ameiko's lost love was eaten by something followed from the fact that sufficient gold to purchase the Rusty Dragon would probably also be sufficient gold to purchase a Raise Dead, material component and all, if his body had been recovered. Gnolls were the first anthropophagous monsters that sprang to mind, but degenerate (half-ogre?) cannibals fits better in Varisia. Ameiko probably had to have had a rogue mentor somewhere along the line, and in Varisia he'd most likely be one of the native gypsy-types; and in a not-quite-TPK where the arcane casters aren't high enough level to teleport, bet on the rogue to be one of the few survivors.
The similar tastes thing is interesting; I'd always suspected a subtle element of Fan Service and/or Author Appeal behind Ameiko, long before she was revealed as the central focus of a new AP (or that she'd started out as one of your PCs, which argues heavily towards the Author Appeal side -- most gamers aren't going to create and run a PC they don't really like). Like a lot of white American guys, and especially a lot of white American geeks, I tend to find Asian women especially attractive; bonus points for an Asian woman with a lovely singing voice. And if I can't have a girlfriend like that, at least my character in Rise of the Runelords can, adding one more small vicarious pleasure to the enjoyment I get out the game. As for similar writing styles, I'll take that as a compliment -- I'd love to be able to write as well as you do.
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If you are in a combat that mostly consists of ranged attacks, being prone offers the advantage of adding 4 to your Armor Class against ranged attacks. If you plan in being in a lot of shoot outs as either a Crossbower or a Gunslinger, and you plan on being prone a lot in said shoot outs, then that Feat suddenly has merit.
The problem is that firing a crossbow when prone has no drawback.
So a feat that remove a non-existing drawback has 0 effect.Prone: The character is lying on the ground. A prone attacker has a –4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A prone defender gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.
The -4 is only for melee attack rolls.
And a prone character can use a crossbow without any malus already.
Flavor text: Gospel or open to interpretation?
I realize that "what constitutes "Flavor Text?" also comes to mind.
You can interpret the flavor text all you want. It doesn't have any effect over rules.
The only thing it can do is hint at the intention of the ability if there's considerable ambiguity.
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It wouldn't have to be after Shattered Star, it could be the GenCon 2013 AP. ;)Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
Or it could be never. Just to shake your confidence in predicting Pazio's movements. MWA HA HA.
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Actually Gygax didn't invent the name, he used it as part of his argument why Anti-Paladins shouldn't exist. For him Heroes and Paladins in particular were lone figures of heroism against tides of evil. For him a reverse of the Paladin. simply did not make logical sense. He mentioned the term yes, but only in an effort to bury it.anti-paladins (who chose that name?)I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it was Gary Gygax. The name came around during 1st edition, that's for sure.
Ha! Interesting!
And it goes to show you that if you're a popular guy, if you want to bury a term, you should just never use that term in any sort of public way, I guess.
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So I can be rest assured that there is indeed an irrisen AP after Shattered Star. Thanks James :)Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
Unless I'm just stringing folks along to keep them guessing, of course.
Or unless we've thought of something more interesting to do.
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Hey, James
I love Pathfinder artwork and I was wondering will Paizo ever release a copendium book with only artwork? Having a picture book where it's just all artwork would be cool. (not saying that the artwork in the AP's or core books is bad just saying that I would love to see more!) Sorry if this question has been asked before.
This question has indeed been asked a LOT before, but don't be sorry!
We might do something like this some day... but the unfortunate truth is that art books, in Paizo's experience, simply do not sell NEARLY as well as game books filled with great art. We still have plenty of copies of the Art of Dragon we published many, many years ago, for example.
Never say never, I guess, but again, they're not strong sellers in our experience.
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I've not yet read all the way through Advanced Player's Guide, and I've barely even looked in Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic beyond looking at the specific concepts that I need for building things like the Jade Regent Adventure Path.
*looks at (Creative Director)*
*looks at post*
My head asplode.On the occasions that I play (and with all the important NPCs in my homebrew stuff) I start with a cool rules mechanic in combat and build a character around it, regardless of the efficiency. Being a GM, of course, I have a bit more freedom to toss absurd foes at my players.
From trip fighters to melee sorcs (Arcane Strike!) to a cavalier's mount pulling a gnome-operated ballista, some of the most awesome fights are inspired by the shiny new mechanics you guys crank out!
Yup... turns out that we publish more books than one person can really read. Especially if reading them is as much work as it is play. ;-)
But even if I weren't Creative Director, I still wouldn't read those books all the way through. I'd certainly read the world books and adventures and the like... but rulebook expansions to me are not meant for reading all the way through, anymore than dictionaries or encyclopedias are.
Everything we publish is open to interpretation. That goes for every other publisher as well.Flavor text: Gospel or open to interpretation?
I realize that "what constitutes "Flavor Text?" also comes to mind.
Can I interpret that to mean you are currently working on the Casmaron Gazetteer? ;)
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Can I interpret that to mean you are currently working on the Casmaron Gazetteer? ;)Everything we publish is open to interpretation. That goes for every other publisher as well.Flavor text: Gospel or open to interpretation?
I realize that "what constitutes "Flavor Text?" also comes to mind.
You can, just as you can interpret it to mean that I have two heads, one of which is a giant talking toe that speaks in riddles.
Or it could be never. Just to shake your confidence in predicting Pazio's movements. MWA HA HA.It wouldn't have to be after Shattered Star, it could be the GenCon 2013 AP. ;)Hey James, what can you tell us about the Irrisen based adventure path that happens after Shattered Star in late 2012, about the return of Baba Yaga?I can neither confirm nor deny that we'll be doing anything Baba Yaga/Irrisen related after Shattered Star. It's absolutely a logical choice, given the timeline of when Baba Yaga's coming back to Golarion, but aside from confirming that what we wrote about timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide is in fact accurate... I can say nothing.
I don't post as much as I used to (too busy writing), but pretty please still keep me on the list of those still passionately interested in seeing an Irrisen AP in the future.
Thanks James!
You can, just as you can interpret it to mean that I have two heads, one of which is a giant talking toe that speaks in riddles.Can I interpret that to mean you are currently working on the Casmaron Gazetteer? ;)Everything we publish is open to interpretation. That goes for every other publisher as well.Flavor text: Gospel or open to interpretation?
I realize that "what constitutes "Flavor Text?" also comes to mind.
And Paizo's staff and James in particular continues to be just awesome! ;)
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Yup... turns out that we publish more books than one person can really read. Especially if reading them is as much work as it is play. ;-)
But even if I weren't Creative Director, I still wouldn't read those books all the way through. I'd certainly read the world books and adventures and the like... but rulebook expansions to me are not meant for reading all the way through, anymore than dictionaries or encyclopedias are.
I think I have read everything put out by Paizo for Pathfinder except the modules. Inner Sea World Guide took the longest and that took a little over 2 weeks. It is pretty cool to see the difference between the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetter, then the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, and to finally the Inner Sea World Guide. I miss some things that haven't been updated from 3.5 to PFRPG like the cleric and fighter class options, changes to wardstones on the Mendev border, and a few other minor things.
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I think I have read everything put out by Paizo for Pathfinder except the modules. Inner Sea World Guide took the longest and that took a little over 2 weeks. It is pretty cool to see the difference between the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetter, then the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, and to finally the Inner Sea World Guide. I miss some things that haven't been updated from 3.5 to PFRPG like the cleric and fighter class options, changes to wardstones on the Mendev border, and a few other minor things.
Does that include Planet Stories, Pathfinder Tales, all of the PFS scenarios, the web fiction, and blog posts? If so... well done!
This question has indeed been asked a LOT before, but don't be sorry!
We might do something like this some day... but the unfortunate truth is that art books, in Paizo's experience, simply do not sell NEARLY as well as game books filled with great art. We still have plenty of copies of the Art of Dragon we published many, many years ago, for example.
Never say never, I guess, but again, they're not strong sellers in our experience.
Count me as a buyer for the putative art book, for what that's worth.
The thing about The Art of Dragon Magazine is that it's eclectic -- nobody has an emotional attachment to all or even most of the worlds or characters presented. I think the old Art of the Dragonlance Saga actually sold pretty well; well enough, at least, for WotC to think it worth reprinting it in 1998, and publishing a followup volume Masters of Dragonlance Art in 2002. Dragonlance is a special case, of course; the novels have a fan base that extends well beyond that of the game materials.
I think an Art of Pathfinder might do better than the Art of Dragon did, but no Pathfinder character (so far, at least) has the kind of fan following that Raistlin Majere or the other DL characters developed, and I suspect that a major selling point of AotDS was the portraits of people's favorite characters. I think the Reader's Guide to the Legend of Drizzt, also largely an art book, did reasonably well for the same reason: not the the art is beautiful or well-done, so much as that it's beautiful, well-done art of Drizzt Do-Urden and his companions, who a lot of readers love.
I really only read the stuff about the iconics in the blog.
Do the gunslinger, samurai, anti-paladin, and ninja have iconics? When can I expect to read about them?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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What are your thoughts of fantasy adventurers interacting with modern day Earth? I know back in the day I liked one of the old Baba Yaga's Hut adventures that featured a sherman tank, as well as the Dragon magazine adventure where the PCs had to travel to Earth to find a missing artifact. There was also an adventure in Dungeon where a modern day Earth human appeared in the PC's path in the gameworld, along with some sort of demon or something.
Would adventures like this theoretically be possible sometime in Paizo's future (even if they're far off because they'd need rules to be developed for technology, etc.), or would you be against things like this interacting with Golarion?
Who came up
with the idea of
aliases? They're awesome.
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I really only read the stuff about the iconics in the blog.
Do the gunslinger, samurai, anti-paladin, and ninja have iconics? When can I expect to read about them?
I be neither friend nor foe in that case... I be the distracted person off to the side trying to catch a lizard.
The gunslinger, samurai, and ninja are all iconics and have backstories; the antipaladin does not. You can find their backstories here.
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What are your thoughts of fantasy adventurers interacting with modern day Earth? I know back in the day I liked one of the old Baba Yaga's Hut adventures that featured a sherman tank, as well as the Dragon magazine adventure where the PCs had to travel to Earth to find a missing artifact. There was also an adventure in Dungeon where a modern day Earth human appeared in the PC's path in the gameworld, along with some sort of demon or something.
Would adventures like this theoretically be possible sometime in Paizo's future (even if they're far off because they'd need rules to be developed for technology, etc.), or would you be against things like this interacting with Golarion?
Eeew... I'm generally not a fan of that storyline. When fantasy characters interact with modern day Earth in movies, it's almost always because it's a sequel to a fantasy movie that has a smaller budget, and filming in modern day Earth is a lot less complex and less expensive than finding an ancient looking set or building a set. That said, the adventure in Dragon #100 where the PCs travel to modern London in search of the Mace of St. Cuthbert was pretty cool.
Adventures like this are not really something we're really all that interested in doing for Golarion... if only because doing so would require an official "Pathfinder Modern" type rulebook to work at all, and that's not something we're interested at this time in doing.
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for someone who is about to undertake the task of building a *large* setting, what should they look out for? what should they do? and what should they not do?
Unless you're aiming to publish it... and even THEN... don't try to do everything at once. Start with one relatively small part and build it from there.