"Dear James, if you could re-write a single moment in table-top history, what would it be?"Hmmm... I'd be afraid of causing butterfly effects that would end up with me not working at Paizo, honestly. And having just finished the new Stephen King book... I'm pretty wary of causing butterfly effects.
Oooh you like Stephen King? I didn't know he had a new book out... about time travel no less? I'll have to look that up...
What's your all time favorite King book?
I'd have to say mine is IT.
What do I need to consider that isn't in the Core Rulebook when adventuring underwater? I'm planning a campaign that takes place completely under the sea (the PCs are all merfolk, so they are adapted to this environment).IANJ, but please see the following PDF: Cerulean Seas. It's almost exactly what you just described, already set up as a campaign setting.
No money. I already have a bunch of rulebook purchases planned. That, and if I am going to spend 20 dollars, I prefer a physical copy. I don't spend that much on pdfs.
No money. I already have a bunch of rulebook purchases planned. That, and if I am going to spend 20 dollars, I prefer a physical copy. I don't spend that much on pdfs.What do I need to consider that isn't in the Core Rulebook when adventuring underwater? I'm planning a campaign that takes place completely under the sea (the PCs are all merfolk, so they are adapted to this environment).IANJ, but please see the following PDF: Cerulean Seas. It's almost exactly what you just described, already set up as a campaign setting.
Yeah, while I see what you mean, that book is like 280 pages (that's a LOT for a PDF) and I guess from some of the reviews it has a lot of nice artwork you don't' normally see in PDFs. Also, looks like it used to be $30 but has gone down to $20 so maybe in few months it will go down again. $30 for a PDF? NO way. $20? I'm seriously thinking about it as for 280 pages and the info the reviewers say it has, sounds like it might be worth it. PLus, as you say you have a lot of other books planned, so even for me it will be a few months for me to catch up on other purchases too.
Or it might just be a haiku about Baba Yaga with no hidden meanings ....Does that mean we should expect rules for mythic level play sometime around the year 2109?For Golden-Esque:
Hark! A dancing hut!
Has it been one hundred years?
Get them mythic rules!Or does it mean Mythic Rules in 2013 (4713 AR), when Baba Yaga returns?:)
Possible, but highly unlikely. ;) And I am pretty sure James will be along to smack me down a peg eventually. :)
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I'm confused about Outsiders. I've got too much outdated information in my head. So here's a Multi-part question that will hopefully clear up this confusion.
1) In Treerazer's entry in the Inner Sea world Guide it mentions on his death that his 'animus' will not return to the Abyss when he dies. Do Outsiders normally not die when on the Material Plane? Is that just for Summmoned Outsiders? What about Demons that come through the Worldwound, are they dead for reals? Does this only apply to demons?
2) On a more amusing note, do outsiders get annoyed by getting Summon Monstered? Do you find the thought of them getting their revenge by creating a Summon Mortal Spell as amusing as I do?
I know this a lot of questions, so thanks in advance.
1) Which came first: the spell tattoo mechanics (which require the user be able to see and touch their tattoos to activate them), or Seoni's character design?
2) If a really strong half-elf uses a restrained ghoul as an improvised melee weapon, can the ghoul cause paralysis by just colliding with valid targets? Or does it need to manage to claw or bite the person it gets bashed against?
...
James, I saw earlier in the thread that you like to play high level games and the questions I have become more and more relevant the higher level you play.
1) Have you played in games where characters didn't have some of the somewhat standard protective gear: cloaks of resistance, rings of protection, bracers of armor for non-armor characters, and amulets of natural armor?
2) If so, have these characters been troublesome in a survivability sense? I.e. without having the best of these gear you can find, a standard d20 roll will be between 5% (a +1 difference) and 50% or so (AC items) less likely to favor you.
3) If you have encountered survivability problems, do you have any suggestions for getting past them other than having every high level character have the same protection gear? Maybe allowing custom items that add a resistance bonus to a more interesting cloak, for example?
4) On a related but less problematic note, do you tend to use stat boosting items to maximize your primary stat first or increase your lesser stats? Or not even get them at all in favor of other belts/headbands?
Where is James Jacobs?
Remain calm.
CONGRATULATIONS! You've won the sweepstakes and received a two-week, all-expenses-paid vacation to the spot in Golarion you'd most like to visit. Unfortunately, some restrictions apply -- namely, on the way there you need to spend a 48-hour layover in the spot in Golarion you'd least like to visit. Where are you going for vacation, and where are you spending the layover?
Hey James Jacobs,
I have some questions, but I just thought you might find it amusing that our gaming group has a tyrannosaurus figure at two of our gaming locations that's referred to as "James Jacobs". As the game master, I'll point it at players who score a lot of crits and declare, 'James is watching you...'in a dark and scary voice.
Anyway, my party is trying to capture a ghoul. The reasoning behind this is long and complicated, but they are essentially planning on having an entity with a magical life-giving artifact try to restore life to an undead, since this entity can grab a steak and regenerate a cow from it (or owlbear, if they're eating owlbear steaks). I guess I have multiple questions then...
1) Assuming the party hogties a ghoul. They have asked if they could use it as an improvised weapon to cause paralyzation in their enemies. Does the ghoul have to turn that power on or is it always on? (Dang it Zhangar, I was getting around to asking! Zhang is in my group in case you wondered.)
1.5) Is whacking bad guys with a ghoul a good idea, bad idea or brilliant idea?
2) Is forcefully regenerating and resurrecting people and animals an evil act? My party is thinking that normal resurrection gives the soul a choice and this kind of forced resurrection doesn't. Since it doesn't, is pulling a soul out of a heavenly realm evil? What about from an Unhappy realm?
3) Is owlbear steak delicious or does it hoot at you when you try to eat it?
Thanks for your time!
Tundra
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How would you go about converting Tomb of horrors and should I convert from 3.5 or 1st edition?
Depends on if I were converting it for a home game or converting it for print.
If I was going to just run it in a home game, I'd stat up the traps and the monsters in Pathfinder stat format and that's it. I'd then just ad-hoc anything else that came up during play and use the 1st edition version of the adventure.
If I were converting it to Pathfinder for print (will never happen, alas), I would rewrite the whole thing from the ground up
Which library book to I read first: the book of ways Armageddon could happen, the book of likely causes for war in the coming decades, or the book that debunks western myths about Japan?
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What do I need to consider that isn't in the Core Rulebook when adventuring underwater? I'm planning a campaign that takes place completely under the sea (the PCs are all merfolk, so they are adapted to this environment).
The fact that the Core Rulebook assumes adventures and campaigns take place above water means that there's a LOT you'll need to consider. My advice would be to seek out any number of the previous D&D edition underwater adventures and sourcebooks that are out there for inspiration... or to wait for Paizo or a 3rd party publisher to do more with underwater stuff, I guess.
An actual list of what one would need to consider would be huge, and worth being its own messageboard post elsewhere on these boards. In fact, that's a pretty cool idea for a brainstorm-theme thread.
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Evil versions of those four critters aren't in Bestiary 3 though.What about evil versions of: Unicorn (Black), Treant (Black Willow), Couatl (Some vain in-need-of-sacrifices dark-coloured version) and Dryad (Something spikey and thorny and maybe crazy with the mission of cuting invaders open to feed their blood to the trees)?
Thank You!!
** spoiler omitted **Oh, question!
Have you had a look at the Artesia RPG? If so, what are your thoughts/opinions on it? (I'm more interested on your thoughts regarding the setting/fluff, e.g. religion, history, etc., than on the game system [admittedly not for everyone] or product itself [good look, but organisation of content could be better...].)
Thank you.
-- C.
<Edit: Added a disclaimer in the spoiler. Not trying to start a fight here...>
Regarding the spoilered rant: I agree. There doesn't always have to be evil versions of good monsters or, conversely, good versions of evil monsters. The half-celestial and half-fiend template more or less make such monsters unnecessary.
Haven't looked at Artesia.
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"Dear James, if you could re-write a single moment in table-top history, what would it be?"Hmmm... I'd be afraid of causing butterfly effects that would end up with me not working at Paizo, honestly. And having just finished the new Stephen King book... I'm pretty wary of causing butterfly effects.
Oooh you like Stephen King? I didn't know he had a new book out... about time travel no less? I'll have to look that up...
What's your all time favorite King book?
I'd have to say mine is IT.
My favorite Stephen King book is probably "The Stand." My favorite Stephen King story ever is "The Mist."
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I'm confused about Outsiders. I've got too much outdated information in my head. So here's a Multi-part question that will hopefully clear up this confusion.
1) In Treerazer's entry in the Inner Sea world Guide it mentions on his death that his 'animus' will not return to the Abyss when he dies. Do Outsiders normally not die when on the Material Plane? Is that just for Summmoned Outsiders? What about Demons that come through the Worldwound, are they dead for reals? Does this only apply to demons?
2) On a more amusing note, do outsiders get annoyed by getting Summon Monstered? Do you find the thought of them getting their revenge by creating a Summon Mortal Spell as amusing as I do?
I know this a lot of questions, so thanks in advance.
1) Outsiders don't have souls, so my use of the word "animus" is specifically to dodge that fact (although it's also sort of a "placeholder" word for something we might do someday with nascent demon lords and other really powerful protodeities who aren't quite demigods yet). An outsider, essentially, is a being where the body and soul are one shared object. That's why you can't raise outsiders from the dead. A summoned outsider does not die, but all other outsiders on the Material Plane do indeed die when they are killed. The majority of the demons in the Worldwound are actually there, so like Treerazer, they're dead when they die.
2) Whether or not summon monsters actually call upon specific creatures each time is unclear. But certainly, outsiders tend to be annoyed when conjured via spells like planar binding.
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1) Which came first: the spell tattoo mechanics (which require the user be able to see and touch their tattoos to activate them), or Seoni's character design?
2) If a really strong half-elf uses a restrained ghoul as an improvised melee weapon, can the ghoul cause paralysis by just colliding with valid targets? Or does it need to manage to claw or bite the person it gets bashed against?
1) Seoni's character design, although the intent all along was to have magic tattoo mechanics. The first incarnation of these rules appeared in the Rise of the Runelords player's guide.
2) HA! No. The ghoul needs to actually claw or bite a foe; just touching it won't paralyze you. If it did, then the ghoul would have some sort of special defense that paralyzed anyone who made a natural or unarmed strike against it.
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Just seen the catfolk in Bestiary 3 and it pretty much identical to the way I have always pictured them. I'm wondering who decided on the final look for them. Also in the unlikely case you were to do more classes (Or Alternative classes) any chance of one of them being a catfolk Iconic?
The artist decided the final look; we gave her a small amount of guidance in the art order, but she got to decide the details.
Chances of us doing a catfolk iconic are very very very remote.
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James, I saw earlier in the thread that you like to play high level games and the questions I have become more and more relevant the higher level you play.
1) Have you played in games where characters didn't have some of the somewhat standard protective gear: cloaks of resistance, rings of protection, bracers of armor for non-armor characters, and amulets of natural armor?
2) If so, have these characters been troublesome in a survivability sense? I.e. without having the best of these gear you can find, a standard d20 roll will be between 5% (a +1 difference) and 50% or so (AC items) less likely to favor you.
3) If you have encountered survivability problems, do you have any suggestions for getting past them other than having every high level character have the same protection gear? Maybe allowing custom items that add a resistance bonus to a more interesting cloak, for example?
4) On a related but less problematic note, do you tend to use stat boosting items to maximize your primary stat first or increase your lesser stats? Or not even get them at all in favor of other belts/headbands?
1) No. I actually enjoy all the cool magic items high level characters get to use, although I do get bored with the bog-standard rings and cloaks and stuff. I generally just add new powers onto those items in high level games I run, so you might have a ring of protection +2 that also lets you do something else.
2) See #1 above.
3) Sounds like you don't want to play high level games. My suggestion would be to identify the level at which you and your group feels is over the top, move the 20th level capstone abilities down to that level (or perhaps the one just below it), and then when you hit that level, play a few sessions to wrap up the campaign and then start a new campaign with new 1st level characters. The other option would be to completely re-write the rules, which is a lot of work.
4) As a player, I tend to use them to maximize my primary stat or Constitution (which is a primary stat for EVERYONE). For NPCs, I tend to use them to bolster stats so that the NPC is closer to what Table 1-1 from the Bestiary expects for that NPC's CR.
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CONGRATULATIONS! You've won the sweepstakes and received a two-week, all-expenses-paid vacation to the spot in Golarion you'd most like to visit. Unfortunately, some restrictions apply -- namely, on the way there you need to spend a 48-hour layover in the spot in Golarion you'd least like to visit. Where are you going for vacation, and where are you spending the layover?
Vacation: Sandpoint.
Layover: Somewhere in Taldor.
On the giant eagle page of the first Bestiary, why is Merisiel riding a giant eagle while carrying a large shield and lance? Is she even proficient with lances and large shields?
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Hey James Jacobs,
I have some questions, but I just thought you might find it amusing that our gaming group has a tyrannosaurus figure at two of our gaming locations that's referred to as "James Jacobs". As the game master, I'll point it at players who score a lot of crits and declare, 'James is watching you...'in a dark and scary voice.
Anyway, my party is trying to capture a ghoul. The reasoning behind this is long and complicated, but they are essentially planning on having an entity with a magical life-giving artifact try to restore life to an undead, since this entity can grab a steak and regenerate a cow from it (or owlbear, if they're eating owlbear steaks). I guess I have multiple questions then...
1) Assuming the party hogties a ghoul. They have asked if they could use it as an improvised weapon to cause paralyzation in their enemies. Does the ghoul have to turn that power on or is it always on? (Dang it Zhangar, I was getting around to asking! Zhang is in my group in case you wondered.)
1.5) Is whacking bad guys with a ghoul a good idea, bad idea or brilliant idea?
2) Is forcefully regenerating and resurrecting people and animals an evil act? My party is thinking that normal resurrection gives the soul a choice and this kind of forced resurrection doesn't. Since it doesn't, is pulling a soul out of a heavenly realm evil? What about from an Unhappy realm?
3) Is owlbear steak delicious or does it hoot at you when you try to eat it?
Thanks for your time!
Tundra
HA! Weird. And cool. I approve.
1) Nope, won't work (see above).
1.5) Bad idea. Because it doesn't paralyze folks and just makes the ghoul angry.
2) You can't "forcefully" resurrect anything. Anything being resurrected gets to decide if it wants to be resurrected. If it doesn't it can't be resurrected.
3) It's kinda gamey. If it hoots, you need to cook it a little longer.
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On the giant eagle page of the first Bestiary, why is Merisiel riding a giant eagle while carrying a large shield and lance? Is she even proficient with lances and large shields?
Probably because the artist thought it'd look cool. So, in that particular scene, yes, she is proficient with lances and shields.
(I suspect what happened was that the art order was "Paint us a picture of a giant eagle, and put an elf on its back so we can get a sense of the eagle's scale" and then our art director sent Merisiel as a reference for an elf, and the artist thought he/she was being asked to paint that specific elf on the eagle's back, and then gave Merisiel a lance and shield because it would look cool.)
((AKA: Very very very few art directors and artists know the rules of the game, and even those that do often make choices that make for cooler art without worrying about the rules.))
On the giant eagle page of the first Bestiary, why is Merisiel riding a giant eagle while carrying a large shield and lance? Is she even proficient with lances and large shields?Probably because the artist thought it'd look cool. So, in that particular scene, yes, she is proficient with lances and shields.
(I suspect what happened was that the art order was "Paint us a picture of a giant eagle, and put an elf on its back so we can get a sense of the eagle's scale" and then our art director sent Merisiel as a reference for an elf, and the artist thought he/she was being asked to paint that specific elf on the eagle's back, and then gave Merisiel a lance and shield because it would look cool.)
((AKA: Very very very few art directors and artists know the rules of the game, and even those that do often make choices that make for cooler art without worrying about the rules.))
I see. I saw it, and I couldn't figure out why a rogue act as cavalry or use that sort of equipment.
James we need you.Been sick. Getting better now. But yeah... somedays I just don't have the energy to reply to messageboard posts.
I hope you feel better soon. ::offers tea::
Will it ever be possible to edit my own posts on the Paizo messageboards without a time limit?
(This would really help making threads more accessible/informative after they grow to a certain length, since the first post could be updated to contain additional information that might have appeared over the course of the discussion.)
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I see. I saw it, and I couldn't figure out why a rogue act as cavalry or use that sort of equipment.
Because sometimes that's what heroes do, weapon proficiency penalties be damned.
I see. I saw it, and I couldn't figure out why a rogue act as cavalry or use that sort of equipment.Because sometimes that's what heroes do, weapon proficiency penalties be damned.
Flyby sneak attack FTW!
The fact that the Core Rulebook assumes adventures and campaigns take place above water means that there's a LOT you'll need to consider. My advice would be to seek out any number of the previous D&D edition underwater adventures and sourcebooks that are out there for inspiration... or to wait for Paizo or a 3rd party publisher to do more with underwater stuff, I guess.
Hmmm. Given the commitment to doing three hardcovers a year, can we realistically hope to see an unusual environments book sometime in the next couple of years? Underwater adventuring might too much of a niche interest enough to sell a book by itself, but I would think that a single book that does for PFRPG what the set of Frostburn, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack did for 3.5 could do well. I know I'd go for it.
Will Paizo ever do tomb of horrors or will WOTC not sell you the rights?
Tomb of Horrors is intellectual property owned by WotC--chances of us doing anything with it are very unlikely.
Vacation: Sandpoint.
Layover: Somewhere in Taldor.
Mark Twain once wrote that the "rules governing literary art in the domain of romantic fiction ... require that the author shall make the reader feel a deep interest in the personages of his tale and in their fate; and that he shall make the reader love the good people in the tale and hate the bad ones." You managed to do that for an entire town, which is a pretty neat trick in the context of a game rather than a novel; your own affection for the place shines through the story and background of "Burnt Offerings." After the very first session of my (sadly defunct) Rise of the Runelords campaign, I wrote this entry in my LiveJournal. If you have a few minutes (HA!), you might enjoy seeing how thoroughly the imaginary place you built captured my own imagination.
On the other hand (and to work a question into this post along with the unabashed Sandpoint fanboying)... Taldor? Really? As opposed to Ustalav, Belkzen, Geb... the Worldwound? What's so horrible about "somewhere in Taldor?"
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Will Paizo ever do tomb of horrors or will WOTC not sell you the rights?
What Liz said. Tomb of Horrors isn't our adventure. WotC isn't likely to come to us with an offer to redo it or any other of their adventures for Pathfinder... and frankly, we're not likely to go to them to ask, since I think we're doing pretty dang god in the adventure department on our own.
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Given the commitment to doing three hardcovers a year, can we realistically hope to see an unusual environments book sometime in the next couple of years? Underwater adventuring might too much of a niche interest enough to sell a book by itself, but I would think that a single book that does for PFRPG what the set of Frostburn, Sandstorm, and Stormwrack did for 3.5 could do well. I know I'd go for it.
The rulebook line isn't the only place we could do this, though. We could do an underwater AP or an underwater Campaign Setting book pretty well, I suspect.