Creative Director
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So, now that it is done, how do you think Jade Regent turned out? Did the story change much from what you had originally envisioned? Anything you would have done differently, or wished you could have added? And most, importantly...
** spoiler omitted **
The story likely changed SIGNIFICANTLY from what I envisioned, since I didn't develop the adventure path. I've not even had a chance to read all of it, to be honest. Sometimes, working at Paizo has some weirdly frustrating disadvantages, in other words...
If I HAD done it, the big thing I probably would have changed would have been to have a much stronger role for the first four key NPCs you join up with throughout the whole AP.
As for the spoiler...
Did you see Prometheus?
And was your reaction similar to mine? (hint, it involves a lot of cursing whatever foul gods spawned Damon Lindoff)
The backers of PFO will get to help choose the themes for the various levels of the dungeons under thorn keep. Will they all have strong tie-ins to each other? Will it be able to be run as essentially a somewhat protracted module?
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In the First World article in AP 36, it was stated that fey don't have souls. Since gnomes originated from the First World, some would think that gnomes themselves don't have souls.I'm not sure where this comes from, but it sounds wrong. Gnomes have souls. If they didn't they would be outsiders and wouldn't be able to be raised from the dead all that easily.James did you know gnomes are the only PC race without souls?
Hence another reason I dislike them.Gnomes are humanoids, not fey. Therefore it's not a problem.
That said, we have no in-game mechanic that says you can't resurrect a fey, so the idea of them not having souls is bunk due to the way the game works. Which is frustrating, especially considering we DO have a type of monster (outsiders) who don't really have souls (their bodies and souls are merged into one unit) and as such it's harder to bring them back from death. If this were the case for fey, then they'd have the same mechanic.
They don't, which is frustrating. Which also means to me that while they might not have souls... they have SOMETHING (call it a life-force or spirit or animus or whatever) that does the exact same thing that a soul does... at which point whatever that is becomes nothing more than a synonym for soul, at which point I have to wonder what was the whole point in changing things in the first place. It's certainly interesting flavor for a creature to not have a soul... but it's not supported by the rules of the game. Flavor text sometimes thinks it can supersede rules text (and vice versa) but all that does is weaken the game as a whole.
I've speculated for a while that it's not really that First World fey don't have souls... it's that the entire First World is one gigantic soul as big as the Material Plane, playing games with itself.
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Creative Director
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The backers of PFO will get to help choose the themes for the various levels of the dungeons under thorn keep. Will they all have strong tie-ins to each other? Will it be able to be run as essentially a somewhat protracted module?
What they'll be choosing from are five ideas each of us came up with. And I've got a pretty good idea of how all of those dungeons will fit together anyway. So yes, there will be a unified feel to the dungeons (I hope), but they won't work as a stand-alone module, because you won't have enough experience points earned in any one level to jump seamlessly into the next one. Instead, it's good to think of the dungeon as a place you go back to numerous times as you adventure and explore the overall region.
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Creative Director
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Are there places in the planes where everyday life is more or less the same as the material plane? Is there anywhere in the Great Beyond with populations of humans that lead normal (by Material Plane standards) lives? I'm imagining demiplanes where people just farm and fight and trade (and since it's a fantasy setting, a handful encounter monsters and go off on adventures too).
If not, would it in theory be possible to set up a human settlement in someplace like the Boneyard or Elysium? Assuming that the difficulties or getting people there and such can be overcome.
There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.
It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.
The backers of PFO will get to help choose the themes for the various levels of the dungeons under thorn keep. Will they all have strong tie-ins to each other? Will it be able to be run as essentially a somewhat protracted module?What they'll be choosing from are five ideas each of us came up with. And I've got a pretty good idea of how all of those dungeons will fit together anyway. So yes, there will be a unified feel to the dungeons (I hope), but they won't work as a stand-alone module, because you won't have enough experience points earned in any one level to jump seamlessly into the next one. Instead, it's good to think of the dungeon as a place you go back to numerous times as you adventure and explore the overall region.
That sounds fantastic. Cheers.
Thank you for your answer! What do you mean by saying some places too good for humanity, and how does this prove problematic?
There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.
Example from the GMG:
Major positive-dominant planes go even further. A creature on a major positive-dominant plane must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to avoid being blinded for 10 rounds by the brilliance of the surroundings. Simply being on the plane grants fast healing 5 as an extraordinary ability. In addition, those at full hit points gain 5 additional temporary hit points per round. These temporary hit points fade 1d20 rounds after the creature leaves the major positive-dominant plane. However, a creature must make a DC 20 Fortitude save each round that its temporary hit points exceed its normal hit point total. Failing the saving throw results in the creature exploding in a riot of energy, which kills it.
I've speculated for a while that it's not really that First World fey don't have souls... it's that the entire First World is one gigantic soul as big as the Material Plane, playing games with itself.In the First World article in AP 36, it was stated that fey don't have souls. Since gnomes originated from the First World, some would think that gnomes themselves don't have souls.I'm not sure where this comes from, but it sounds wrong. Gnomes have souls. If they didn't they would be outsiders and wouldn't be able to be raised from the dead all that easily.James did you know gnomes are the only PC race without souls?
Hence another reason I dislike them.Gnomes are humanoids, not fey. Therefore it's not a problem.
That said, we have no in-game mechanic that says you can't resurrect a fey, so the idea of them not having souls is bunk due to the way the game works. Which is frustrating, especially considering we DO have a type of monster (outsiders) who don't really have souls (their bodies and souls are merged into one unit) and as such it's harder to bring them back from death. If this were the case for fey, then they'd have the same mechanic.
They don't, which is frustrating. Which also means to me that while they might not have souls... they have SOMETHING (call it a life-force or spirit or animus or whatever) that does the exact same thing that a soul does... at which point whatever that is becomes nothing more than a synonym for soul, at which point I have to wonder what was the whole point in changing things in the first place. It's certainly interesting flavor for a creature to not have a soul... but it's not supported by the rules of the game. Flavor text sometimes thinks it can supersede rules text (and vice versa) but all that does is weaken the game as a whole.
How very Gentry like ;)
I love pathfinder because it fixed a whole lot of problems that came from previous game systems. of course there are a whole list of additional issues and even if those were fixed there would be a whole list of new ones.
having said that are there any issues being specifically looked at? A few that come to mind immediately are
OVERRUN: its a bit confusing, seems rather limited and is one of those abilities that seems very difficult to use mechanically as a player imagine it
INTIMIDATE (skill): underdeveloped, causes extremely unlikely results when used as RAW. (also spills over into feats like antagonize)
I understand some things are essentially not "fixable" because they are all about interpretation such as alignment, and other things suffer from extremely small or situational errors that people nit pick, and ultimately anything can be fixed by DM fiat.
but still the good thing about the rules are they ensure that players and GM have a like understanding and act as an impartial 3rd party to resolve arguments. So i often wonder when some of these may be addressed, how to properly bring attention to them if one thinks they should be addressed and what is simply working as intended.
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Creative Director
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Thank you for your answer! What do you mean by saying some places too good for humanity, and how does this prove problematic?
There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.
Might be the cynic in me...
...but I'm pretty sure there are PLENTY of places in the good outer planes that would be spoiled by humans, because we as a race aren't quite mature and ready to handle paradise.
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Creative Director
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So, the PFOnline Kickstarter had over $300k pledged. does this Shock you? How much did you expect it to actually raise? And how much do you think your writing a level (and signing the books) contributed to the sudden increase of funding?
I can't say. Because the announcement of me writing a level was tied to a few other announcements (Erik's level, for one thing). As for being shocked... not really. With other RPG-related Kickstarters making tons of money, I knew there was a lot of potential out there. So I guess I'm not shocked as much as I am delighted.
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Creative Director
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I love pathfinder because it fixed a whole lot of problems that came from previous game systems. of course there are a whole list of additional issues and even if those were fixed there would be a whole list of new ones.
having said that are there any issues being specifically looked at? A few that come to mind immediately are
OVERRUN: its a bit confusing, seems rather limited and is one of those abilities that seems very difficult to use mechanically as a player imagine it
INTIMIDATE (skill): underdeveloped, causes extremely unlikely results when used as RAW. (also spills over into feats like antagonize)
I understand some things are essentially not "fixable" because they are all about interpretation such as alignment, and other things suffer from extremely small or situational errors that people nit pick, and ultimately anything can be fixed by DM fiat.
but still the good thing about the rules are they ensure that players and GM have a like understanding and act as an impartial 3rd party to resolve arguments. So i often wonder when some of these may be addressed, how to properly bring attention to them if one thinks they should be addressed and what is simply working as intended.
We're constantly looking at the rules and keeping track on what works well and what needs work, but until we start working on a 2nd edition of the game (which is not today), it's all theoretical.
Are you an Erol Otus fan?
How would you price a use-activated item with a spell that has a duration of continuous?
Thank you for your answer! What do you mean by saying some places too good for humanity, and how does this prove problematic?
There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.
Might be the cynic in me...
...but I'm pretty sure there are PLENTY of places in the good outer planes that would be spoiled by humans, because we as a race aren't quite mature and ready to handle paradise.
Is it safe to presume "humans" in this entire thread of conversation could just as easily apply to "humanoids" in general?
That reason works for Golarion, doesn't mean those rules/templates can't be included in setting neutral books.True... but while our rulebooks aren't "Golarion specific," the reverse is not true. Golarion SPECIFICALLY uses our rulebooks to model what's in it, and when we start putting things into the rulebooks that don't really have a place in Golarion, it causes confusion. And as such, I'd rather avoid deliberately including content in the rulebooks that we have no intention of ever supporting or exploring further in Golarion—we've done a few of those things already (Words of Power come to mind), and the result is, in my opinion, very unsatisfying.
Then you might end up hating the Advanced Race Guide...
*crunch*
A normal medium-sized set of Manacles weighs 2 lbs.
How much do:
1. Manacles (size large) weigh
2. Manacles (size small) weigh
3. Manacles (size tiny) weigh
The reason I ask is because in the Core rulebook (Fifth printing November 2011), on page 158 in Table 6–9: Goods and Services does not have a superscript 1 next to the weight denoting that the weight changes based on size.
Was that intended?
Hey James,
Would you say someone immune to Ability Damage is immune to Ability Drain as well? Specifically, is the Tarrasque immune to Ability Drain?
I've been having some issues with Gaseous Form, I think most of them are related to how things have ended up in my Jade Regent campaign, but I do have one rules related question. The spell states that the target can't cast spells (unless silent, still and eschewed) and loses supernatural abilities. Does this mean they can still use their spell like abilities?
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Creative Director
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Is it safe to presume "humans" in this entire thread of conversation could just as easily apply to "humanoids" in general?Thank you for your answer! What do you mean by saying some places too good for humanity, and how does this prove problematic?
There are places that might SEEM similar to everyday Material Plane life out there... but those are cases where illusions and trickery is in play. Overall... the Great Beyond is not a duplicate of the Material Plane—the Material Plane is itself big enough to cover all the possible variations on those themes we all might want to see.It would likely not be possible to set up human settlements in places like that, simply because those regions are too dangerous, unwelcoming to humanity, or too good for humanity. The material plane is, after all, where humanity does its thing to earn its place in the outer planes.
Might be the cynic in me...
...but I'm pretty sure there are PLENTY of places in the good outer planes that would be spoiled by humans, because we as a race aren't quite mature and ready to handle paradise.
Yes.
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Creative Director
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Then you might end up hating the Advanced Race Guide...
That reason works for Golarion, doesn't mean those rules/templates can't be included in setting neutral books.True... but while our rulebooks aren't "Golarion specific," the reverse is not true. Golarion SPECIFICALLY uses our rulebooks to model what's in it, and when we start putting things into the rulebooks that don't really have a place in Golarion, it causes confusion. And as such, I'd rather avoid deliberately including content in the rulebooks that we have no intention of ever supporting or exploring further in Golarion—we've done a few of those things already (Words of Power come to mind), and the result is, in my opinion, very unsatisfying.
I don't have to love everything we publish.
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Creative Director
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James, presented with the option, would you choose an MMO to represent golarion (which is actually heppening) or a single player RPG like those that BioWere make? and why?
If it were all up to me... I'd choose the single player RPG each and every time without any hesitation. Because I like single player RPGs MUCH better than MMOs, and because with a single player RPG you can do MUCH more with building stories and world content than you can in an MMO.
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Creative Director
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*crunch*
A normal medium-sized set of Manacles weighs 2 lbs.
How much do:
1. Manacles (size large) weigh
2. Manacles (size small) weigh
3. Manacles (size tiny) weighThe reason I ask is because in the Core rulebook (Fifth printing November 2011), on page 158 in Table 6–9: Goods and Services does not have a superscript 1 next to the weight denoting that the weight changes based on size.
Was that intended?
It's safe to assume that things like that do indeed adjust depending on size. x2 for large, 1/2 for small, 1/4 for tiny.
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Creative Director
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Hey James,
Would you say someone immune to Ability Damage is immune to Ability Drain as well? Specifically, is the Tarrasque immune to Ability Drain?
Nope. If you're immune to one of those, you're not necessarily immune to the other. Ability drain can indeed affect the tarrasque. Can't kill it though.
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Creative Director
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I've been having some issues with Gaseous Form, I think most of them are related to how things have ended up in my Jade Regent campaign, but I do have one rules related question. The spell states that the target can't cast spells (unless silent, still and eschewed) and loses supernatural abilities. Does this mean they can still use their spell like abilities?
Yes.
How would you price a use-activated item with a spell that has a duration of continuous?So... that doesn't make sense. You use it once and then it's always on? Just price it as continuous.
My mistake, I meant to say instantaneous.
Under use activated/continuous formula, items with a duration of 1 round per level have a *4 multiplier, 1 minute per level have a *2 multiplier, 10 minutes per level have a *1.5 multiplier and 24 hours or longer have a *0.5 multiplier. I know some people think that if the duration isn't specifically spelled out there, then it can't be made use activated/continuous.
My goal is to make boots that cast Bladed Dash whenever the user makes a charge, or possibly a spring attack, haven't decided on that one yet. Use activated and continuous are priced in the exact same way, and 'swinging a sword' is a method of activating use activated, so I figure making a charge would also be possible.
Anyway, since it doesn't have a listed price modifier, but it's obviously shorter than 1 round per level, I was curious if it should have a higher price modifier, or no modifier at all.
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Creative Director
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How would you price a use-activated item with a spell that has a duration of continuous?So... that doesn't make sense. You use it once and then it's always on? Just price it as continuous.My mistake, I meant to say instantaneous.
Under use activated/continuous formula, items with a duration of 1 round per level have a *4 multiplier, 1 minute per level have a *2 multiplier, 10 minutes per level have a *1.5 multiplier and 24 hours or longer have a *0.5 multiplier. I know some people think that if the duration isn't specifically spelled out there, then it can't be made use activated/continuous.
My goal is to make boots that cast Bladed Dash whenever the user makes a charge, or possibly a spring attack, haven't decided on that one yet. Use activated and continuous are priced in the exact same way, and 'swinging a sword' is a method of activating use activated, so I figure making a charge would also be possible.
Anyway, since it doesn't have a listed price modifier, but it's obviously shorter than 1 round per level, I was curious if it should have a higher price modifier, or no modifier at all.
You can't really make an instantaneous effect continuous. Otherwise you could have an "always on" fireball which is kinda weird.
In order to do boots that do bladed dash whenever you charge, you'd probably want to price them as a quickened bladed dash spell (AKA a 6th level spell, caster level 11th)... so that'd be a starting price of 6 x 11 x 2000 = 132,000 gp. Pretty expensive... but then again, that's a pretty potent effect you're looking to create.
Who's Erol Otus?
How would you price a use-activated item with a spell that has a duration of continuous?So... that doesn't make sense. You use it once and then it's always on? Just price it as continuous.My mistake, I meant to say instantaneous.
Under use activated/continuous formula, items with a duration of 1 round per level have a *4 multiplier, 1 minute per level have a *2 multiplier, 10 minutes per level have a *1.5 multiplier and 24 hours or longer have a *0.5 multiplier. I know some people think that if the duration isn't specifically spelled out there, then it can't be made use activated/continuous.
My goal is to make boots that cast Bladed Dash whenever the user makes a charge, or possibly a spring attack, haven't decided on that one yet. Use activated and continuous are priced in the exact same way, and 'swinging a sword' is a method of activating use activated, so I figure making a charge would also be possible.
Anyway, since it doesn't have a listed price modifier, but it's obviously shorter than 1 round per level, I was curious if it should have a higher price modifier, or no modifier at all.
You can't really make an instantaneous effect continuous. Otherwise you could have an "always on" fireball which is kinda weird.
In order to do boots that do bladed dash whenever you charge, you'd probably want to price them as a quickened bladed dash spell (AKA a 6th level spell, caster level 11th)... so that'd be a starting price of 6 x 11 x 2000 = 132,000 gp. Pretty expensive... but then again, that's a pretty potent effect you're looking to create.
I just don't think it's possible for a use activated version. I'll tell you, a quickened version is a very bad idea. You get to make an attack as part of the spell, and since you're making a swift action version, the user would still get a standard and move action left. So one could use a quickened version and get a free attack, then get their full attack off afterward.
Probably best if I just make it a command word item, though I didn't want to do that as I liked the idea of combining it with a charge.
Are you running an Unspeakable Futures game at Paizocon? If so, I haven't found it on the list, and would certainly want to bid a 4 on it if it's there.I'm not running one this year.
Having never attended Paizocon or anything similar, is this kind of thing a regular occurance? How many games do you see at the cons? What's the atmosphere like and how long do they last? Sounds like it'd be really cool.
Hi James.
What type of action is the kensai's perfect strike?
Spend an arcane point is usually swift action or immediate action and is always written, but in this case not. Therefore the perfect strike does not count as action?Perfect Strike (Ex)
At 4th level, when a kensai hits with his chosen weapon, he can spend 1 point from his arcane pool in order to maximize his weapon damage. Don’t roll for damage—the weapon deals maximum damage. This affects only the weapon’s base damage dice, not additional damage from sneak attack, magical weapon properties, spellstrike, or critical hits. If the kensai confirms a critical hit, he can instead spend 2 points from his arcane pool to increase his weapon’s critical multiplier by 1.
This ability replaces spell recall.
I would imagine that spending the arcane point requires no action in this case; it would be part of the action used to make the attack in the first place.
Will something likes this ever be introduced into pathfinder?
Hwacha
Aura faint conjuration and evocation; CL 5th
Slot – Price 31,000 gp; Weight 275 lbs.
This wagon is filled with 50 iron tubes in 5 rows of 10. Each tube contains something that resembles an arrow, but fills the tube. When a command word is spoken, the arrows are launched out of the tube, as if fired from a bow. The hwacha is a siege weapon used for both offense and defense. It has a minimum range of 100 ft, and a maximum range of 400 ft. The hwacha can be tilted to alter the angle of the launch by using a crank. The one aiming the hwacha is also the one who must speak the command word; if anyone else speaks it, nothing happens. By using a move action, the hwacha’s angle of launch can be altered by up to 50 ft, by using a full round action, the hwacha’s angle can be altered by up to 150 ft.
Once launched, the one aiming the hwacha must make an attack roll against AC 10; this attack roll is only modified by the aimer’s base attack bonus, plus his intelligence modifier. No feats, spells, or abilities modify either the attack roll or damage roll. Treat the hwacha as an exotic weapon for proficiency. If the attack roll misses, the hwacha’s target area deviates by 5 ft per point missed; roll 1d8 to determine the direction of deviation. The arrows fired by the hwacha rain down in a 10 ft radius circle. Those within the hwacha’s area of effect take 5d6 points of piecing damage and must make a DC 14 reflex save for half damage.
The hwacha conjures new arrows in the tubes on the following round, with the arrows fired disappearing a round after being fired. The hwacha can be fired once a round, on the aimer’s turn.
Construction
Requirements Craft Magical Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, abundant ammunition, fireball Cost 15,500 gp
Abundant Ammunition: CL 1 * SL 1 * 2,000 * 2 = 4,000
Fireball: CL 5 * SL 3 * 1,800 = 27,000
4,000 + 27,000 = 31,000 gp
Real Hwacha firing from the Mythbusters episode.
hey James
dimensional hop is a spell-like ability and as such provokes Attacks of opportunity upon activation. It is clear that moving in this way, through threatened squares do not provoke, but it becomes unclear to me if the activation, is also excluded seeing at you use a move action to activate it?
has the movement already begun upon activation?
reference:
"Dimensional Hop (Sp): At 8th level, you can teleport up to 10 feet per cleric level per day as a move action. This teleportation must be used in 5-foot increments and such movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You must have line of sight to your destination to use this ability. You can bring other willing creatures with you, but you must expend an equal amount of distance for each creature brought."
If you suddenly found yourself in Golarion, what's the one entity you would try hardest not to p*ss off?