Creative Director
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Ah, now Shandilavri I remember; Malcanthet’s realm. Which one was Zionin, what were some of its notable features, and was the name’s similarity to Zion intentional or significant?What is your favourite layer of the Abyss (in the Great Wheel version)?Of the ones I had a hand in designing, probably a tie between Shendilavri and Zionin. Of the ones that existed prior to my involvement, probably Gaping Maw.
Zionin is the 663rd layer of the Abyss; it's where Obox-ob lives, a horror-realm of obyriths and their hideous hive cities built out of the preserved bodies of countless dead. The name is not intended to be similar to Zion.
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The wants and needs of fans aside, do you think the Magus fits a niche in the game that is not adequately filled by an existing class or combination of classes?
What should a class like the Magus do to set it apart from existing classes or combination of classes?
Do you think the version that is presented for playtesting has pretty much got that right, or would you like to see changes based on playtest feedback and/or further internal development?
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In the previous class playtests, do you think the play-testers and fans pretty much got things right in respect to changes that were made to the classes due to the play-test process? Was there anything that you thought was really cool that came out of the class playtests? Anything that you would have rather seen left the way it was as per the alpha or beta version?
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Creative Director
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As a class that doesn’t really have a strong historical or mythological precedent, where does Paizo draw their inspiration for such a class? Literature, existing classes in the game, similar classes in different editions of D&D or other games, the wants and needs of the fans?
The fact that the magus doesn't have a very strong literature history is one of the larger issues facing its design; it's an obvious choice in-game but only because it's a play style that's been with the game as long as multiclassing. That said, there ARE a few magus-type characters out there to use as inspiration in the literary world; Elric is one of them. There's others if one looks.
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Creative Director
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The wants and needs of fans aside, do you think the Magus fits a niche in the game that is not adequately filled by an existing class or combination of classes?
What should a class like the Magus do to set it apart from existing classes or combination of classes?
Do you think the version that is presented for playtesting has pretty much got that right, or would you like to see changes based on playtest feedback and/or further internal development?
I personally think that the niche of "fighter/wizard" was already served by multiclassing or by the bard; I think a variant bard that had some significant spell selection adjustments would have worked pretty well to fill the demand for this type of character. In fact, that's kind of the route Jason took with the magus; the bard is the basic template for the class.
What the class does to set it apart from existing classes or class combinations is to provide a more directly supported synergy between martial and arcane magic powers. Multiclassing doesn't do this completely well.
The version we presented for playtesting is NOT the final version. That's what getting it playtested is all about; getting feedback from thousands, if not tens of thousands of gamers.
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Creative Director
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Was the name ‘Magus’ pretty much unanimously liked by the Paizo people who get input on such naming decisions, or were there others that were strong contenders? If there were any, are you in a position to share them?
Naming this class was INCREDIBLY difficult. Mostly because there's not much in the way of real-world or literary fighter/wizards to draw upon. We wanted a name that was a real word, too, so we couldn't make up a name.
My favorite name was actually "warlock," but since there's already a pretty strong tradition in the game for the warlock that was invented by Wizards of the Coast, we decided not to name this class that so gamers who use that class in their home games don't feel like they're breaking rules or anything.
Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
I'll still be following you guys over breakfast cereals
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Which country around the Inner Sea is closet to your real-world inspiration? Which country has no real-world analogue?
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Creative Director
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The various play tests that Paizo have run have been powerful and exciting experiences for the fans – how does that excitement translate back to Paizo? Do you get inspired by that, or does it all become a bit over the top and stressful, managing people’s expectations?
Managing the playtests and interpreting the feedback is not easy. It's a LOT of work, and it tends to disrupt the production cycle of our products really well; right now we're trying to ship the Bestiary 2 and Jason's having to work like 16 hour days as a result which is pretty rough.
So the "excitement" of the playtest doesn't translate as "excitement" to us at Paizo; it's really tough work and we kind of dread them, to be honest. That said, it's something that has HUGE rewards, both in getting our new rules balanced AND in building anticipation and trust with the customers. I wouldn't and couldn't think of doing these major rule books any other way, frankly.
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Will we ever visit Sovyrian, the homeland of the elves?
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Creative Director
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In the previous class playtests, do you think the play-testers and fans pretty much got things right in respect to changes that were made to the classes due to the play-test process? Was there anything that you thought was really cool that came out of the class playtests? Anything that you would have rather seen left the way it was as per the alpha or beta version?
I actually quite liked the original rules for skills, but they were a bit TOO simple for people, I think. I also wish we could have done something more drastic with iterative attacks, but again... too much change at once is bad.
The playtest results, though, are very helpful. And not always because the playtesters gave great feedback (although they often did). It's just as easy to find out information about a class if it's TOO good; the playtest results for the summoner are a great example of this.
In any event, I generally don't get too involved in the playtests. Jason's the one who runs that show, and I tend NOT to become too involved because when I (or other folks here at Paizo, frankly) do so, that tends to skew results.
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)I'll still be following you guys over breakfast cereals
Cereal of choice?
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Will we ever visit Sovyrian, the homeland of the elves?Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Did someone ask about Sovyrian already? I suspect detailed information on the elven homeland is not something Paizo is ready to reveal at this stage if at all ... though I'm fairly curious.
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Creative Director
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Which country around the Inner Sea is closet to your real-world inspiration? Which country has no real-world analogue?
Sandpoint in Varisia is based VERY heavilly on my home town of Point Arena and its real-world history, down to things like having a dump that consists of just dumping trash over the edge into the sea, having a theater in a small town, and having a mirror posted just outside of town with a message to visitors to take a look at themselves so they'll see how we see them first.
As for no real-world analouges... there's plenty. The Five Kings Mountains, Kyonin, Belkzen, Nex, Geb, and the Worldwound all come to mind.
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Creative Director
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Did someone ask about Sovyrian already? I suspect detailed information on the elven homeland is not something Paizo is ready to reveal at this stage if at all ... though I'm fairly curious.
Yeah; Sovyrian is still in mystery mode. But unlike "what killed Aroden," it's not a mystery we'll keep hidden forever.
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Has Paizo ever considered APs set earlier in Golarion's history? Example: before Earthfall? Pre-Thrune Cheliax? Osirion at the height of its power?
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Can you give us any hint about the true nature of Sarusan?
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Which faith(s) would dearly like to convert the country of Rahadoum (or at least show them the error of their ways in banning religion in the country)?
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)I'll still be following you guys over breakfast cereals
Will mechanics ever be provided for the Challenge of Sky and Heaven?
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Soon it’ll just be you, joela and I nattering away.Do you think peoples’ attention has been distracted from this thread by the Magus play test?Nah; this thread's been running a bit out of steam lately I think perhaps because I've pretty much answered all the possible questions. ;-)
Any plans to one day publish the mechanics for Hard Aeromancy and the electro-thaumaturgy?
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Creative Director
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Has Paizo ever considered APs set earlier in Golarion's history? Example: before Earthfall? Pre-Thrune Cheliax? Osirion at the height of its power?
Yes... but that's a tricky subject. Because that's essentially requiring a brand new campaign setting, when we have one already. I'm just as hesitant to pre-Earthfall adventures as I am to do adventures set on other continents, other planets, or entire new campaign settings. That type of thing requires a lot of work and a lot of pre-planning. Depending on how Jade Regent goes, we'll see where things go from there as far as setting entire APs in what essentially amounts to new campaign settings.
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Creative Director
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Which faith(s) would dearly like to convert the country of Rahadoum (or at least show them the error of their ways in banning religion in the country)?
Sarenrae would love to teach that nation that worshiping deities can be good for you. Alas... I suspect that Asmodeus has a better chance at getting in there first since he's a lot sneakier.
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Which faith(s) would dearly like to convert the country of Rahadoum (or at least show them the error of their ways in banning religion in the country)?Sarenrae would love to teach that nation that worshiping deities can be good for you. Alas... I suspect that Asmodeus has a better chance at getting in there first since he's a lot sneakier.
+1!
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Creative Director
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What did you like about the 3.x Epic rules? Disliked about them?
I really liked that the rules gave a place to play out really mythological things, like fighting demon lords and gods and doing what essentially amounts to superhero stuff. Taking a PC from 1st level up to the point where he's creating worlds and commanding flights of dragons and challenging archfiends is really cool.
Alas... without a cap to the level progression, the rules are fundamentally flawed. There's no way to actually design campaigns or adventures or support material for that kind of system since there's no common ground to build from; a deity can be CR 24 or 34 or 56 or 190 or 324,094 and none of those is "right" when it comes to setting the "most powerful creature." That, and the math of the game simply doesn't scale right. An epic level game NEEDS a level cap. At least, it does in order for me to be interested in supporting it; I'm not interested in putting a year of work into statting up a bunch of demigods, for example, only to have the internets blast the work because my stats are "too powerful" or "not powerful enough" for their own interpretations of what is epic level.
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Creative Director
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The drow played a prominent role in the AP, Second Darkness. Same with the genies in Legacy of Fire? What race(s) would you like to see play similar roles in an AP?
Giants played a key role in Rise of the Runelords. Serpentfolk play a prominent role in the Serpent's Skull AP. And oni will play a pretty huge role in Jade Regent. Focusing on a specific race or type of creature is a great way to give an AP focus and a strong theme. We'll keep doing it, in other words. I'm not going to give shout outs to other races at this time, though, simply because that would either reveal too much about unannounced APs or would create false buzz. Neither of which I want.