James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs wrote:And then just treat it like the normal spell affects I assume?The NPC wrote:Yes.Mr. James Jacobs,
Does casting enlarge person on a huge creature make it gargantuan?
Correct. The bonuses the spell grants are not identical to those granted by advancing a monster to a larger size.
Dragon78 |
1)On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate all the Godzilla movies?
2)Have you seen "Varan", "Space Amoeba"/"Yog; monster from space", "Frankenstein conguers the world", "King Kong Escapes", "The Mysterians", "Atragon", "Monthra Reborn(1,2,3)", and/or "War of the Gargantuans"?
3)Have your Co-workers ever got you to watch something you would never have watched on your own and you liked it?
4)If you could stat up Godzilla in Pathfinder what CR would you make him?
5)I see the Innersea Bestiary and Blood of the Night got pushed back to November, will this effect the release of the Campaign setting/player companion books of that month as well or will they all releas the same month?
6)Any reason why the Wayne Renolds art book got pushed back to next year?
7)What are your top 10 comic book based movies?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
1)On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate all the Godzilla movies?
2)Have you seen "Varan", "Space Amoeba"/"Yog; monster from space", "Frankenstein conguers the world", "King Kong Escapes", "The Mysterians", "Atragon", "Monthra Reborn(1,2,3)", and/or "War of the Gargantuans"?
3)Have your Co-workers ever got you to watch something you would never have watched on your own and you liked it?
4)If you could stat up Godzilla in Pathfinder what CR would you make him?
5)I see the Innersea Bestiary and Blood of the Night got pushed back to November, will this effect the release of the Campaign setting/player companion books of that month as well or will they all releas the same month?
6)Any reason why the Wayne Renolds art book got pushed back to next year?
7)What are your top 10 comic book based movies?
1) There's dozens of them. I've seen them all, but I lack the energy to go gather up all the titles and then give ratings to them all. Godzilla (1998) is the worst, Gojira and GMK are tied at best.
2) Yes, Yes, No, No, No, Yes, Yes (to all 3), and Yes.
3) Yup. Vampire Hunter D comes to mind. As does Family Guy.
4) A kaiju, which means I can't stat him up till we get mythic rules nailed down.
5) I suspect that there'll be a month we ship two products in those lines.
6) Yup. Turns out that adding books to the schedule generally means one or more will be late. The Thornkeep book and the Rise of the Runelords anniversary edition both helped to make the Wayne Reynolds art book get pushed to next year. Hopefully further additional books added to the schedule won't do it again!
7) Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, A History of Violence, Watchmen, Iron Man, The Walking Dead, X-Men 2, and Spiderman 2. I'm probably forgetting a few, particularly if they weren't superhero comics.
Laric |
Hi James,
This thread is awesome!
I have some questions about Shattered Star as it relates to the previous APs.
I am currently playing in Rise of the Runelords (we're half-way through HMM) and I'm about to start DMing Curse of the Crimson Throne with a group that includes the DM of the RotRL campaign as a player.
Once we are finished playing RotRL (which won't be for a while), we plan to move on to Shattered Star for which I'll be a player. At that point, the CotCT campaign may still be underway.
I know that Shattered Star is assumed to take place after Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne and Second Darkness. The DM of RotRL has agreed not to look at the Shattered Star AP volumes until we are well into the CotCT campaign to avoid spoilers.
Here are my questions:
Question 1:
I was thinking after Escape from Old Korvosa, might be a good point, because by that time the players know who the BBEG is and they also know the secret of the Arkonas.
Question 2:
Question 3:
Thanks!
James Jacobs Creative Director |
Hi James,
This thread is awesome!
I have some questions about Shattered Star as it relates to the previous APs.
I am currently playing in Rise of the Runelords (we're half-way through HMM) and I'm about to start DMing Curse of the Crimson Throne with a group that includes the DM of the RotRL campaign as a player.
Once we are finished playing RotRL (which won't be for a while), we plan to move on to Shattered Star for which I'll be a player. At that point, the CotCT campaign may still be underway.
I know that Shattered Star is assumed to take place after Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne and Second Darkness. The DM of RotRL has agreed not to look at the Shattered Star AP volumes until we are well into the CotCT campaign to avoid spoilers.
Answer 1:
Answer 2:
Answer 3:
Analysis |
1. Do you think it would be possible to make a magic item that provides a Mage's Magnificient Mansion effect, like a fancier, reusable version of the Instant Fortress?
2. If so, could inanimate objects be stored inside while the fortress was in inactive mode, or would they, like creatures inside, be expelled when it was deactivated?
SmiloDan RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32 |
xanthemann wrote:Deflect/Snatch Arrows should work against alchemist bombs. As should a giant's ability to catch rocks/incoming thrown weapons.So I have been reading the threads and I was wondering about the official ruling on this question.
Deflect/Snatch Arrows feat vs. Alchemist bombs. Does it work or will Dizzy Devil eat it?
(50 xp for understanding the Dizzy Devil reference lol)
What happens to the bomb? Does it scatter like a splash weapon? Does it become inert? If the monk Snatches the bomb, can he throw it?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
1. Do you think it would be possible to make a magic item that provides a Mage's Magnificient Mansion effect, like a fancier, reusable version of the Instant Fortress?
2. If so, could inanimate objects be stored inside while the fortress was in inactive mode, or would they, like creatures inside, be expelled when it was deactivated?
1) Yes. Any magic item is possible, though, so that's nothing new.
2) You could make that part of the item's special features if you wanted. It'd just end up costing a bit more.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
I have an off the wall question.
Trolls, specifically female trolls.
1. Are there male and female versions?
2. If yes, do female trolls look like male trolls?
3. If not, do they look like Tananda from Robert Aspirin's Myth series?
Thanks in advance for at least humoring me.
1) Yes.
2) Yes, but with breasts. We've got some pictures of female trolls coming up in Pathfinder #63, in fact.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs wrote:What happens to the bomb? Does it scatter like a splash weapon? Does it become inert? If the monk Snatches the bomb, can he throw it?xanthemann wrote:Deflect/Snatch Arrows should work against alchemist bombs. As should a giant's ability to catch rocks/incoming thrown weapons.So I have been reading the threads and I was wondering about the official ruling on this question.
Deflect/Snatch Arrows feat vs. Alchemist bombs. Does it work or will Dizzy Devil eat it?
(50 xp for understanding the Dizzy Devil reference lol)
If the bomb is caught or snatched or whatever, it doesn't blow up but it does instantly become inert. If it's deflected, it hits somewhere else and blows up normally.
FiddlersGreen |
Hey James,
Assume class A gives a bonus feat at level N.
If:
-archetype A states that "you may take feat X as your bonus feat at level N",
-archetype B states that "you may take feat Y as your bonus feat at level N", and
-none of the other abilities modified by the archetypes overlap,
can you take both archetypes?
Cheers! =)
Odraude |
Two questions about hardness:
1) What is considered a bladed weapon? Likewise, what is considered a hafted weapon? I'm a bit confused as to the difference.
2) What would the hardness of a firearm be? I feel it be considered under Projectile Weapon, but Hardness 5/HP 5 seems rather low for a firearm.
Thanks
Laric |
Laric wrote:Hi James,
This thread is awesome!
I have some questions about Shattered Star as it relates to the previous APs.
I am currently playing in Rise of the Runelords (we're half-way through HMM) and I'm about to start DMing Curse of the Crimson Throne with a group that includes the DM of the RotRL campaign as a player.
Once we are finished playing RotRL (which won't be for a while), we plan to move on to Shattered Star for which I'll be a player. At that point, the CotCT campaign may still be underway.
I know that Shattered Star is assumed to take place after Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne and Second Darkness. The DM of RotRL has agreed not to look at the Shattered Star AP volumes until we are well into the CotCT campaign to avoid spoilers.
Answer 1: ** spoiler omitted **
Answer 2: ** spoiler omitted **
Answer 3: ** spoiler omitted **...
Awesome! Thanks!
I'm really impressed with what you guys have done with races on Golarion, they all seem to have a unique history that helps them have more a racial identity. And based on what you wrote, I'm really excited about Shattered Star as well.
Final question: Are there any plans to map out the levels below Castle Korvosa or otherwise deal directly with Sorshen in future products?
As previously suggested on these boards, I was thinking of running the Mud Sorcerer's Tomb as a follow up to CotCT, with it serving as the level beneath Castle Korvosa and possibly culminating in a showdown with Sorshen.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hey James,
Assume class A gives a bonus feat at level N.
If:
-archetype A states that "you may take feat X as your bonus feat at level N",
-archetype B states that "you may take feat Y as your bonus feat at level N", and
-none of the other abilities modified by the archetypes overlap,
can you take both archetypes?
Cheers! =)
Nope. Both archetypes modify the same class ability, even though that modification is identical. They still overlap and thus don't allow you to take both archetypes.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So trolls are mammals? I always thought they were reptillian in some way... wierd
Trolls are humanoids with the giant subtype. They don't have any weird plant powers, nor do they have the reptilian subtype. They're mammals, in other words... although magical ones since they regenerate and all that.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Two questions about hardness:
1) What is considered a bladed weapon? Likewise, what is considered a hafted weapon? I'm a bit confused as to the difference.
2) What would the hardness of a firearm be? I feel it be considered under Projectile Weapon, but Hardness 5/HP 5 seems rather low for a firearm.
Thanks
1) A bladed weapon is any weapon that deals slashing damage. A hafted weapon is any weapon that has a handle that's longer than the actual mechanism of inflicting damage—this is pretty vague and open to interpretation. Axes and pole arms and maces and picks are hafted weapons, but swords are not.
2) A firearm is mostly metal. It's closest analogy would be to a light or one-handed metal-hafted weapon.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs Creative Director |
So you made the DMG2 mob template?
Have you looked at any of the fan fixes for it?
What do you think of how people think, as bad as it is, it is the only thing worth bothering with in DMG2?
I haven't looked at the fan fixes, because I was only a freelancer for that book, not someone higher up on the "food chain" at WotC who should have been tracking fan feedback to look for inspiration or to judge what to do in upcoming books. Furthermore, while it's certainly fun to read good reviews of your work, it's not so fun to read bad reviews. I do try to read ALL reviews because it's good to learn from mistakes, though.
As for the idea that people think DMG2 is bad and that the mob rules are the only thing worth bothering in the book... that part does kind of make me sad, since I did a LOT of the writing for that book, including the rules for businesses, the entire chapter on Saltmarsh, and a development pass on a couple of chapters to revise them away from being too focused on "real world history" and more toward a magical fantasy world.
Ah well... to each their own. Not everything I write can be everyone's favorite.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
donato Contributor |
I've started work on my own homebrew setting. So far I have the gods worked out and some very basic geography. However, I'm having some trouble developing more of the setting. The GMG is helpful in some respects, but are there any tips or other resources I can turn to help out my process that you would recommend?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I've started work on my own homebrew setting. So far I have the gods worked out and some very basic geography. However, I'm having some trouble developing more of the setting. The GMG is helpful in some respects, but are there any tips or other resources I can turn to help out my process that you would recommend?
Don't rush it.
If you're doing things right... you'll NEVER be done building and expanding your world.
Be ravenous when it comes to exposing yourself to anything even remotely connected to the themes of your campaign setting. Read novels, watch movies, study RPG adventures and campaign settings, and don't be afraid to pick up small portions or even entire continents from things you like to pull into your world.
And when you get bored working on one part, don't be afraid to switch to a different part of the world.
I've been building my homebrew setting since 1981 or thereabouts, and I'm nowhere CLOSE to being "done" with it (although in the last 5 years, the bulk of my design for my homebrew has transmorphed into Golarion design work...).
Siddhartasam |
Questions re: Multiple Companions. Tags: Celestial, Servant, companion, arcane, hierophant, boon, boon companion, pack, lord, druid.
Tryin to get some answers here, avoid stinky cheese and find the flavor. I hope the essence of the questions come through my extensive quoting. Please feel free to edit this post to contain those 'spoiler' bits for clarity.
First: With the Pack Lord archetype for Druid, what is the intent of the feat Celestial Servant ("Your animal companion, familiar, or mount gains the celestial template and becomes a magical beast, though you may still treat it as an animal when using Handle Animal, wild empathy, or any other spells or class abilities that specifically affect animals") for multiple companions?
Is it limited to the one companion, as per literal use of singular in text? Can it be taken multiple times, once for each companion, even though this stipulation is usually written out? Might it apply to all companions, as the levels are split between them, and arguably some of the magic spirit as well?
Second: Again with Pack Lord - the Boon Companion feat is currently written to affect both companions and familiars "The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were four levels higher, to a maximum bonus equal to your character level*", yet the suggested errata "to a maximum effective druid level" from http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz2zgd?Animal-Companions-and-Boon-Companion#34 makes this a little confusing.
Does the Boon Companion 'level up' arcane familiars too?
Third: This may be out of your department, as it is a class from 3.5, but PF is 'backwards compatible' and all that, so here goes: The prestige class Arcane Hierophant (AH) from Races of the Wild effectively fuses arcane and druidic magic, with some cost to power of each.
How might 'companion familiars' who level up in both druidic and familiar progressions be affected by Boon Companion?
Do the levels count for both progression sources, or does the character choose one?
If the feat is taken while player has maxed out levels of AH (@ 10) does Boon Companion grant progression from both tables to an effective AH level of 14?
Fourth: Can a Pack Lord have more than one Companion Familiar? or do subsequent Companions have to choose between familiar and companion status?
These aspects all have awesome synergy with both flavor and power, but I was hoping for some guidance from on high before unleashing a Holy army of Celestial Roc SpellFonts on the unsuspecting forces of Cheliax and creating a new Druidic forest in their domain.
ANebulousMistress |
deuxhero wrote:So you made the DMG2 mob template?
Have you looked at any of the fan fixes for it?
What do you think of how people think, as bad as it is, it is the only thing worth bothering with in DMG2?
...
As for the idea that people think DMG2 is bad and that the mob rules are the only thing worth bothering in the book... that part does kind of make me sad, since I did a LOT of the writing for that book, including the rules for businesses, the entire chapter on Saltmarsh, and a development pass on a couple of chapters to revise them away from being too focused on "real world history" and more toward a magical fantasy world.
Ah well... to each their own. Not everything I write can be everyone's favorite.
So YOU'RE the one who wrote Saltmarsh.
I thought it smelled like T-Rex. You have a good style, sir.
Onto a question... What's drow cuisine like?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs Creative Director |
Questions re: Multiple Companions. Tags: Celestial, Servant, companion, arcane, hierophant, boon, boon companion, pack, lord, druid.
Tryin to get some answers here, avoid stinky cheese and find the flavor. I hope the essence of the questions come through my extensive quoting. Please feel free to edit this post to contain those 'spoiler' bits for clarity.
First: With the Pack Lord archetype for Druid, what is the intent of the feat Celestial Servant ("Your animal companion, familiar, or mount gains the celestial template and becomes a magical beast, though you may still treat it as an animal when using Handle Animal, wild empathy, or any other spells or class abilities that specifically affect animals") for multiple companions?
Is it limited to the one companion, as per literal use of singular in text? Can it be taken multiple times, once for each companion, even though this stipulation is usually written out? Might it apply to all companions, as the levels are split between them, and arguably some of the magic spirit as well?
Second: Again with Pack Lord - the Boon Companion feat is currently written to affect both companions and familiars "The abilities of your animal companion or familiar are calculated as though your class were four levels higher, to a maximum bonus equal to your character level*", yet the suggested errata "to a maximum effective druid level" from http://paizo.com/forums/dmtz2zgd?Animal-Companions-and-Boon-Companion#34 makes this a little confusing.
Does the Boon Companion 'level up' arcane familiars too?
Third: This may be out of your department, as it is a class from 3.5, but PF is 'backwards compatible' and all that, so here goes: The prestige class Arcane Hierophant (AH) from Races of the Wild effectively fuses arcane and druidic magic, with some cost to power of each.
How might 'companion familiars' who level up in both druidic and familiar progressions be affected by Boon Companion?
Do the levels count for both progression sources, or does the character choose one?
If the feat is taken while player has maxed out levels of AH (@ 10) does Boon Companion grant progression from both tables to an effective AH level of 14?
Fourth: Can a Pack Lord have more than one Companion Familiar? or do subsequent Companions have to choose between familiar and companion status?
These aspects all have awesome synergy with both flavor and power, but I was hoping for some guidance from on high before unleashing a Holy army of Celestial Roc SpellFonts on the unsuspecting forces of Cheliax and creating a new Druidic forest in their domain.
First: Celestial Servant would apply to all animal companions. It uses the singular for animal companion because that's the norm.
Second: The "Effective druid level" bit is talking about rangers with animal companions. Boon Companion doesn't let you enhance a ranger companion above the normal maximum for a ranger companion. The feat is pretty much aimed at multiclass characters. It still works for familiars.
Third: I'm not familiar with the arcane hierophant's abilities, but Boon Companion would probably still work. You'd pick one companion, and it couldn't get its powers higher than your total character level (aka your Hit Dice for a zero HD race). It can't let you gain a boon companion with more powers than you'd be able to do if you were just a single class druid or wizard or whatever.
Fourth: What's a companion familiar? Your questions have finally remorselessly confused/outpaced me.
Finally: If you have a cool idea for a game, don't worry so much about interpreting the rules perfectly as written, especially if you're trying to push the limits of a bunch of different powers from a bunch of different books and editions. You can always just write NEW rules for your game if you wish, after all.
ALSO: When citing a huge number of rules from many different books... please indicate where those rules are from. In a case like this, you're probably more familiar with the various character options and what books they're from than I am if you're using contents from non-Core, non-Bestiary books in the rulebook line...
James Jacobs Creative Director |
LazarX |
Second: The "Effective druid level" bit is talking about rangers with animal companions. Boon Companion doesn't let you enhance a ranger companion above the normal maximum for a ranger companion. The feat is pretty much aimed at multiclass characters. It still works for familiars.
Are you defining that "normal maximum" as Ranger Level equals Ranger HD or Hit Dice -3? If it's the latter than we're hearing multiple voices on this matter from the Paizo end and this should be cleared up in a FAQ.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs wrote:Second: The "Effective druid level" bit is talking about rangers with animal companions. Boon Companion doesn't let you enhance a ranger companion above the normal maximum for a ranger companion. The feat is pretty much aimed at multiclass characters. It still works for familiars.Are you defining that "normal maximum" as Ranger Level equals Ranger HD or Hit Dice -3? If it's the latter than we're hearing multiple voices on this matter from the Paizo end and this should be cleared up in a FAQ.
I am... but I'm also not super familiar with all these Boon Companion effects either, so you might be better served by ignoring my musings on the topic and instead posting your concerns to the appropriate forum elsewhere on these boards.
Mort the Cleverly Named |
Dear Mr. Jacobs:
Do you have any adventures in the works? I'm a ridiculously huge fan of The Brinewall Legacy, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, and pretty much all the rest of your adventure work, but it seems (from skimming the product schedule) that you don't have anything coming up in the near future. Should I hold out hope for something in Reign of Winter, or am I going to have to wait until the Worldwound campaign (whatever it ended up being called) for my fix?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Dear Mr. Jacobs:
Do you have any adventures in the works? I'm a ridiculously huge fan of The Brinewall Legacy, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, and pretty much all the rest of your adventure work, but it seems (from skimming the product schedule) that you don't have anything coming up in the near future. Should I hold out hope for something in Reign of Winter, or am I going to have to wait until the Worldwound campaign (whatever it ended up being called) for my fix?
Thanks for the kind words!
I've got a short dungeon level (about 8 pages) in the upcoming Thornkeep book, but apart from that I am not currently working on an adventure. I'm not writing any of the Reign of Winter adventures, and am unlikely to be writing an adventure for "Wrath of the Righteous," since I'll be working on a DIFFERENT book that will be in the Campaign Setting line that'll launch the same day as the first Wrath of the Righteous volume.
Justin Franklin |
Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:Dear Mr. Jacobs:
Do you have any adventures in the works? I'm a ridiculously huge fan of The Brinewall Legacy, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, and pretty much all the rest of your adventure work, but it seems (from skimming the product schedule) that you don't have anything coming up in the near future. Should I hold out hope for something in Reign of Winter, or am I going to have to wait until the Worldwound campaign (whatever it ended up being called) for my fix?
Thanks for the kind words!
I've got a short dungeon level (about 8 pages) in the upcoming Thornkeep book, but apart from that I am not currently working on an adventure. I'm not writing any of the Reign of Winter adventures, and am unlikely to be writing an adventure for "Wrath of the Righteous," since I'll be working on a DIFFERENT book that will be in the Campaign Setting line that'll launch the same day as the first Wrath of the Righteous volume.
The Worldwound book that was mentioned at GenCon or the one after that?
James Jacobs Creative Director |
James Jacobs wrote:The Worldwound book that was mentioned at GenCon or the one after that?Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:Dear Mr. Jacobs:
Do you have any adventures in the works? I'm a ridiculously huge fan of The Brinewall Legacy, Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, and pretty much all the rest of your adventure work, but it seems (from skimming the product schedule) that you don't have anything coming up in the near future. Should I hold out hope for something in Reign of Winter, or am I going to have to wait until the Worldwound campaign (whatever it ended up being called) for my fix?
Thanks for the kind words!
I've got a short dungeon level (about 8 pages) in the upcoming Thornkeep book, but apart from that I am not currently working on an adventure. I'm not writing any of the Reign of Winter adventures, and am unlikely to be writing an adventure for "Wrath of the Righteous," since I'll be working on a DIFFERENT book that will be in the Campaign Setting line that'll launch the same day as the first Wrath of the Righteous volume.
As far as I know, this book I'm writing has not yet been announced.
Are |
I have a few questions about the process around the "City of Seven Spears" adventure, considering the multiple authors.
Note: This is far from a criticism, as I happen to enjoy the adventure a great deal! It's like a huge beach I can play in and create whatever sand sculptures I want. I only wish it had been twice as long :)
My questions are as follows:
About how long before the deadline to send the adventure to the printers did you realize something needed to be done?
How easy/hard is it to find authors that can fill in on short notice in situations like this?
Which parts did each author end up writing?
Finally, something only tangentially related (as it happens to be in the same AP): Souls for Smuggler's Shiv is an awesome adventure! I think it's my favorite opening adventure for an AP so far, and I particularly like the writeups for the castaways! Let's see if I can find a question in here.. Do you wish you could write more adventures yourself than you currently get a chance to?