The druid should not be able to hold things with its tentacles. It has no hands, and a violet fungi's tentacles are not capable of wielding objects. It IS capable of wreaking some major havoc with those tentacles, though, and doesn't really need shields or wands or rods.
I would probably rule that you COULD use things with the tentacles in a home game, though. In my experience, though, it's best to be very conservative on what you allow players in the Pathfinder Society, because it's super-competitive. In any event, I'm not the one who makes those calls. That's something you'll either need to get Mike's answer on, or just make a decision in your game and run with it, with the player understanding that when he plays with a different GM, it may not work the same way.
Thank you for the reply.
So in your oppinion the Tentacle you get from Plant shape works nothing like the alchemist discovery Tentacle?
I appreciate your input.
so do you believe that tentacles in general can't hold/manipulate objects like hands can,
and that the wording in alchemist tentacles is a specific exception to that?
Creative Director
|
James, you have mentioned several times that bards are your favorite class, or at least one of your favorites. So, as one who is very familiar with bards and very much likes them, I present you this query:
I want to like bards because they have a lot of fun flavor and options, but bardic performance just seems really corny to me. Who would see a monster coming and think "Oh crap! Gotta start playing my flute!"? I would like to hear your own vision for how they think or even get the idea to try that during their first fight. Could you please explain your take on bards, specifically bardic performance?
First off... if the idea of playing a flute seems corny, don't play the flute. Bardic performance isn't tied to the Perform skill. When you use a bardic performance, you get to choose whether the performance is visual or auditory... that's it. Ranks don't matter at all (save for a very few specific ones). So... if the idea of breaking out the flute to bolster your companions doesn't make sense, instead perhaps the bard is:
...narrating the scene dramatically
...dancing and leaping about (either sensuously or acrobatically or whatever) to aid the PCs
...cracking jokes and bolstering PCs spirits that way
...singing dramatically to egg the PCs on
The fact that you get to choose what you do when you perform... and that if you don't want to choose you can just say "I activate bardic performance" and it still works is the key.
|
Creative Director
|
The druid should not be able to hold things with its tentacles. It has no hands, and a violet fungi's tentacles are not capable of wielding objects. It IS capable of wreaking some major havoc with those tentacles, though, and doesn't really need shields or wands or rods.
I would probably rule that you COULD use things with the tentacles in a home game, though. In my experience, though, it's best to be very conservative on what you allow players in the Pathfinder Society, because it's super-competitive. In any event, I'm not the one who makes those calls. That's something you'll either need to get Mike's answer on, or just make a decision in your game and run with it, with the player understanding that when he plays with a different GM, it may not work the same way.
Thank you for the reply.
So in your oppinion the Tentacle you get from Plant shape works nothing like the alchemist discovery Tentacle?
I appreciate your input.
Correct. The alchemist discovery is ALL ABOUT the tentacle. The druid's plant shape is much more wide-reaching and variable than that—it's got a lot more options than giving you extra arms.
Mr. James Jacobs,
If you were to take the Dragon shaman from 3.5, besides the basic pathfinder upgrades. What pattern of bonus feats would you go with to have the class keep up with the other classes?
Also, would you change his touch of vitality to work like lay on hands?
What would you do for a 20th capstone ability?
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
1)Other then the Lashunta, is there anything mention in Distant Worlds that made it's way into the Innersea Bestiary?
2)What animals do you draw the line when basing a humaniod race on a type of animal? Any chance of dinosaur based races(with or without racial HD)?
3)Favorite old school movie monster: Dracula, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Dr Jackel/Mr. Hide, The Invisible man, The Blob, The Phantom of the Opera, or the Creature from the Black Lagoon?
4)Will we ever see a product with monster stats for tribes of creatures of variuos levels like Goblins, Nixies, Giants, Catfolk, Lizard Folk, Griplis, Duegar, Centuars, etc.?
5)Any chance of a spell compendium style book one day for Pathfinder? How about a book of feats/traits/archtypes?
6)What is your favorite sci-fi movie from the 50's? the 60's? the 80's? and the 90's? I know which is favorite from the 70's;)
7)Favorite animated disney movie? favorite live action disney movie? favorite pixar movie?
1) Dunno. Don't think so.
2) Not a big chance for dinosaur-based humanoid races. I think lizardfolk and troglodytes cover that pretty well already.
3) The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
4) Adventures do that all the time. Using stat blocks out of adventures of the same level as the average party level you're running is, I would say, one of the great underused options in gamemastering. That said, we may well do something that has a bunch of sample classed humanoids some day.
5) There's chances for all those, but we've got more interesting things planned for the future, I hope. Ultimate Equipment ended up being MUCH harder to do than we'd anticipated, and I'd rather work that hard on new content than a big compendium.
6) 50s: Tie betwenn Forbidden Planet and It, the Terror from Beyond Space, close tied second to Angry Red Planet and Quatermass Xperiment and Fiend Without a Face
60s: X The Man with X-Ray Eyes, close and tied second to 2001 and Matango... all because I can't really call Valley of Gwangi sci-fi.
70s: Alien (of course)
80s: The Thing, followed by The Road Warrior and The Fly in second place
90s: Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park (tie)
7) Lilo & Stitch.
John Carter.
Wall-E.
|
Creative Director
|
Mr. James Jacobs,
If you were to take the Dragon shaman from 3.5, besides the basic pathfinder upgrades. What pattern of bonus feats would you go with to have the class keep up with the other classes?
Also, would you change his touch of vitality to work like lay on hands?
What would you do for a 20th capstone ability?
Dunno. I never really looked at the dragon shaman because the class never really interested me, so I'm not really familiar with the class at all.
There are no male nymphs.
Will "Fey Revisited" answer why? I for one would like to see some bishie nymphs. :3
Can you use Magic Jar against outsiders or undead?
I think yes, since the target line says "one creature" with no other limitations (it does not mention the target needing to be alive or sentient, for example).
However, I've heard others say "no" on the basis that outsiders ARE souls, and that undead don't HAVE souls.
I was hoping to get some clarification on intent.
Did you get to place your order for the Reaper Pledge Manager last week? If so, what addons did you get? (I vaguely recall that you bought the Vampire Level, but I could be mistaken.)
Hey James. Not sure if you remember but I am the guy who got "The James Jacobs heart shaped stamp of approval for naming my RPG room into a Pathfinder Lodge". Without further ado here is the link to the pictures of the current Pathfinder Lodge on the great expansive prairies of Canada.
What do you think?
And do I live up to my alias "The Minis Maniac"?Awesome!
And yes!
But why aren't your Pathfinder books on the top shelf? :-P
Sorry for taking so long to reply. But it wasn`t intentional not putting the Pathfinder books on the top shelf. It had to do with how the shelf filled up categorically. Plus the shelf is old and the top shelf actually has a tendency to fall out so I tend not to do major book rearrangements on it as a result so I do beg your forgiveness.
Also would you like updated photos of my Pathfinder Battles mini display case as more sets come out?
|
Creative Director
|
Can you use Magic Jar against outsiders or undead?
I think yes, since the target line says "one creature" with no other limitations (it does not mention the target needing to be alive or sentient, for example).
However, I've heard others say "no" on the basis that outsiders ARE souls, and that undead don't HAVE souls.
I was hoping to get some clarification on intent.
The rules are unfortunately unclear. Logically, you would not be able to use magic jar on a creature without a soul, and so that means you shouldn't be able to use the spell on outsiders, undead, or constructs. I recommend that you lift that for native outsiders, and even allow it to work on normal outsiders, but it shouldn't work on constructs or undead at all.
|
Creative Director
|
Did you get to place your order for the Reaper Pledge Manager last week? If so, what addons did you get? (I vaguely recall that you bought the Vampire Level, but I could be mistaken.)
Got the vampire stuff, the Sophies, and a bunch of extras on Pathfinder stuff, dragons and demons and cthulhus and more.
|
Creative Director
|
Any chance that Keith Baker's 'Dragonscar' module will be approved for Pathfinder Society characters, with a chronicle sheet in additional resources? It's the only 15th level module around right now.
That's a question more for Mark & Mike, but I do know that they've got their hands more than full at the moment on other projects. Dragonscar's not high on any to-do lists as a result right now.
|
James, you have mentioned several times that bards are your favorite class, or at least one of your favorites. So, as one who is very familiar with bards and very much likes them, I present you this query:
I want to like bards because they have a lot of fun flavor and options, but bardic performance just seems really corny to me. Who would see a monster coming and think "Oh crap! Gotta start playing my flute!"? I would like to hear your own vision for how they think or even get the idea to try that during their first fight. Could you please explain your take on bards, specifically bardic performance?
First off... if the idea of playing a flute seems corny, don't play the flute. Bardic performance isn't tied to the Perform skill. When you use a bardic performance, you get to choose whether the performance is visual or auditory... that's it. Ranks don't matter at all (save for a very few specific ones). So... if the idea of breaking out the flute to bolster your companions doesn't make sense, instead perhaps the bard is:
...narrating the scene dramatically
...dancing and leaping about (either sensuously or acrobatically or whatever) to aid the PCs
...cracking jokes and bolstering PCs spirits that way
...singing dramatically to egg the PCs onThe fact that you get to choose what you do when you perform... and that if you don't want to choose you can just say "I activate bardic performance" and it still works is the key.
I was using a similar argument about the bard abilities being "language dependant" here (actually I was of the opinion that most of them aren't) but I was show the error of my ways:
If a bardic performance has audible components, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and such performances are language dependent.
Under the current rules almost all bardic performances have a audible component and so work are language dependant, working only if the target can comprehend the bard.
It is a intended effect or the result of not clanging a piece of 3.x text?
- * -
On a somewhat relate note: a skeleton (and I suppose any mindless undead) has no know language listed. It can be affected by language dependant effects (if those effects can target an undead)?
Putting it another way, a Dirge bard can use language dependant spells on a undead that don't know any language? (several mind affecting spells are language dependant)
|
Hey JJ,
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
But many people seem to really like the bard, so maybe I'm missing something.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
So how exactly does the bard's ability make sense to you in your games? don't you feel like you not only have to suspense your disbelief, but that the entire battle is less cool because someone is busy being a performer instead of fighting?
The rules are unfortunately unclear. Logically, you would not be able to use magic jar on a creature without a soul, and so that means you shouldn't be able to use the spell on outsiders, undead, or constructs. I recommend that you lift that for native outsiders, and even allow it to work on normal outsiders, but it shouldn't work on constructs or undead at all.Can you use Magic Jar against outsiders or undead?
I think yes, since the target line says "one creature" with no other limitations (it does not mention the target needing to be alive or sentient, for example).
However, I've heard others say "no" on the basis that outsiders ARE souls, and that undead don't HAVE souls.
I was hoping to get some clarification on intent.
The spell's description (which is a right mess), intermixes "soul" (which some creatures are, and others don't have at all) with "life force" (which all creatures have, otherwise they'd be inanimate objects). I imagine that since Devils can't be stripped of a soul, it is instead their "life force" that gets forced into the jar.
Do you think is it possible that the spell was originally meant to work on life forces (or animated forces) rather than souls and that it's basically just a terminology snafu? (I ask this because of it originally being written in v3.0.)
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Under the current rules almost all bardic performances have a audible component and so work are language dependant, working only if the target can comprehend the bard.
It is a intended effect or the result of not clanging a piece of 3.x text?
- * -
On a somewhat relate note: a skeleton (and I suppose any mindless undead) has no know language listed. It can be affected by language dependant effects (if those effects can target an undead)?
Putting it another way, a Dirge bard can use language dependant spells on a undead that don't know any language? (several mind affecting spells are language dependant
That's an error, because no one can speak lute or drum, obviously.
|
Creative Director
|
The rules are unfortunately unclear. Logically, you would not be able to use magic jar on a creature without a soul, and so that means you shouldn't be able to use the spell on outsiders, undead, or constructs. I recommend that you lift that for native outsiders, and even allow it to work on normal outsiders, but it shouldn't work on constructs or undead at all.Can you use Magic Jar against outsiders or undead?
I think yes, since the target line says "one creature" with no other limitations (it does not mention the target needing to be alive or sentient, for example).
However, I've heard others say "no" on the basis that outsiders ARE souls, and that undead don't HAVE souls.
I was hoping to get some clarification on intent.
The spell's description (which is a right mess), intermixes "soul" (which some creatures are, and others don't have at all) with "life force" (which all creatures have, otherwise they'd be inanimate objects). I imagine that since Devils can't be stripped of a soul, it is instead their "life force" that gets forced into the jar.Do you think is it possible that the spell was originally meant to work on life forces (or animated forces) rather than souls and that it's basically just a terminology snafu? (I ask this because of it originally being written in v3.0.)
I think it's more possible that the spell was originally meant to work on creatures with souls back when the game didn't have all the extra complexity it does today. It was originally written in 1st edition... maybe even before that (can't remember off the top of my head where the spell first showed up, but it was in the 1st edition AD&D Player's Handbook for sure.
The spell is meant for you to possess a living target, not an animated target. That's the flavor the rules should be enforcing.
|
Creative Director
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Hey JJ,
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
But many people seem to really like the bard, so maybe I'm missing something.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
So how exactly does the bard's ability make sense to you in your games? don't you feel like you not only have to suspense your disbelief, but that the entire battle is less cool because someone is busy being a performer instead of fighting?
In all honesty, it doesn't matter if you don't like the bard or can't take it seriously. We're all different. I can't teach you how to like something you don't like. The fact that many people really like bards means you're missing something in the same way I'm missing something when I don't like dwarves, musicals, or Star Wars.
To me, a bard's performance is a magical effect, and is no more difficult for me to imagine having an effect on the tide of battle than it is for me to imagine someone stopping time, summoning a demon, tripping an elephant, or punching through a stone wall. Yet the game lets you do those things too.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mr. James Jacobs,
I have a question regarding the Vital Strike feats. Can they be used with class abilities like that of Devastating Blow from the Fighter archetype Two-Handed Fighter from the Advanced Player's Guide.
Much appreciation,
Psion-Psycho
I'd say yes. Because if I said no, someone would accuse me of supporting the casters-edition of Pathfinder.
Fighters, in other words, can have nice things too.
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
choose Perform: Dance. do a martial sword dance, interwoven with the normal combat moves you would make anyways.
this seems exactly the sort of thing that would be the meat of a hollywood/chinese martial arts/action film.as James said, FOR THE MOST PART (excepting certain usages which use the skill check to determine outcome),
it's not about the level of skill of performance, but that because you are so magic, you can infuse this magic into your performance... which can be your dance-like movements weaving between sword swings, etc. in a world of magic, what is surprising when magic happens?
|
Hey JJ,
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
But many people seem to really like the bard, so maybe I'm missing something.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
So how exactly does the bard's ability make sense to you in your games? don't you feel like you not only have to suspense your disbelief, but that the entire battle is less cool because someone is busy being a performer instead of fighting?
Not to mention, combat bards exist(ed) in the real world. What do you think a drumline would be?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Not to mention, combat bards exist(ed) in the real world. What do you think a drumline would be?Hey JJ,
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
But many people seem to really like the bard, so maybe I'm missing something.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
So how exactly does the bard's ability make sense to you in your games? don't you feel like you not only have to suspense your disbelief, but that the entire battle is less cool because someone is busy being a performer instead of fighting?
...And music is Still used to demoralize the enemy. I suspect the Heavy Metal, Rock, Rap, Etc, used to Demoralize our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan may have also boosted the moral of our soldiers (assuming the individual soldiers liked that type of music).
|
Creative Director
|
Can a player treat or even figure out they are carrying a disease during the incubation/onset period or does that not occur until the symptoms/detriments actually occur?
Up to the GM, but as written, yes, you can treat a disease even if you don't know what the symptoms are. Think of this as pre-digagnostic care, such as ensuring the sick character is resting and getting plenty of water and other things that generally help most diseases run their course.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Does an eidolon of a summoner of sufficient level follow the summoner into the afterlife upon his/her death? The thought occurred to me because of the line in the class description that states they eventually share a shard of the same soul.
On an unrelated note: What positive or averse effects (In your opinion) would telepathy (Telepathy you can't lie through) have on a budding or long term romance?
Nope. The eidolon is a separate entity. If the summoner dies, the eidolon would live out the rest of its life wherever it came from... or maybe it would simply cease existing entirely. I actually kind of like that second option—the eidolon is a physical manifestation of the summoner's will in this case and without the summoner, the eidolon just doesn't exist.
I suspect that type of telepathy would make long-term romance impossible, frankly, because people aren't ready to know what other people REALLY think about them.
Trying to catch up on this thread while on my break at work, so I don't know if this has garnered a similar response or not yet, but it deserves one:
Imagine a scenario where a summoner and Eidolon fall into a romance, the Eidolon (being an outsider) does not age. But the summoner does, and eventually dies of old age (and therefore cannot be resurrected). The Eidolon *should* disappear, but (much like a ghost) the Eidolon is bound to the mortal world by powerful emotions and unfinished business as an Unfettered Eidolon (Bestiary 3) bent on an insane quest to bring their dead lover back from beyond.
Smells like a great adventure basis to me :)
|
|
How would you handle this as a DM:
One of my players has to miss the session while we are the middle of a dungeon. I can't really think of an easy way to write him out of the session (I usually try not to call a game for the night mid-dungeon because of situations like this)
I don't want to run his character for him because A: I don't keep my player's sheets and B: I had a DM do that to me one time and killed off my character, kinda ticked me off.
For added info, they're in Oblivion in Shackled City, tonight is the fight against Vhalantru (who is a Xacarba rather than a Beholder).
And folks who champion "The book is better than the movie" should read Peter Benchley's "Jaws" to see a good case where the movie is better than the book.
Other examples I can think of from the top of my head include The Graduate, Blade Runner, and just about any Ian Flemming novel.
[Edited to add...]
What's your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
Do you think is it possible that the spell was originally meant to work on life forces (or animated forces) rather than souls and that it's basically just a terminology snafu? (I ask this because of it originally being written in v3.0.)
I have heard there was a time when "soul" was considered too religiously charged for D&D, at the same point as the devil = baatezu, demon = tanaari heyday, and hence the life force terminology instead. Not sure where I heard this though.
On the subject of bards, isn't it a little strange that you can't inspire competence with perform (oratory)?
James:
Will we be finding out any more about Razmir's past/the founding of Razmiran any time soon? I am fascinated by him as a character, and I feel that he does not have nearly enough material that I can find. Some burning questions I have are:
1: Is Razmir his real/original name? If so is it a surname?
2: Did he actually enter the starstone cathedral, fail the test, and successfully emerge? Or, did he simply tell people he went in, but there were no witnesses/it was all a Houdini-esque illusion?
3: How old is he?
4: Are there any contemporaries from his time as a "mortal" who would remember Razmir as the man he was before his rise to power that are still alive?
Questions stemming from my intent to play a samsaran conjurer that follows Pharasma in my next campaign -
1) If a wizard took a whippoorwill as a familiar, what should be the associated benefit? Would the whippoorwill have a spoken language like parrot, raven, or thrush familiars? For comparison, parrots, raven,s and thrushes respectively give bonuses to linguistics, appraise, and diplomacy. I'd probably give a whippoorwill the same stat block as a thrush, since they're about the same size.
2) Will additional psychopomps be statted out in the Inner Sea Bestiary? If not, are there any plans to include more psychopomps in later Adventure Path books?
Thanks!
Is there a reason for the sahuagin's propensity to have beneficial random mutations? Has there been any research in golarion on that? Is there any concept of genes and mutation within the lore?
Are you familiar with the Pre-Socratic natural philosophers? If you are, are they represented anywhere in Golarion, or at least something similar, where philosophers discuss what the "base element" that the whole world is based off of?
On the subject of bards, isn't it a little strange that you can't inspire competence with perform (oratory)?
Huh? Can’t you hear Oratory?
Not to mention, combat bards exist(ed) in the real world. What do you think a drumline would be?Hey JJ,
about the bard: with all honesty, can you (or anyone you know) take the theme of this class seriously? That is, a bard performing mid-combat. That just sounds so absurd to me (never matter how cool the performance could be on it's own) that as a GM I disallowed the class in my games.
But many people seem to really like the bard, so maybe I'm missing something.
Would anyone enjoy seeing a movie where, during combat, while people and monsters are killing each other, someone starts to sing a dramatic representaion of the event? and that's supposed to make his companions more confidant or something? that will ruin the entire scene.
So how exactly does the bard's ability make sense to you in your games? don't you feel like you not only have to suspense your disbelief, but that the entire battle is less cool because someone is busy being a performer instead of fighting?
Absolutely. There are so many great examples. But few of them are fighting while music-making, which is where the PF bard gets a bit puzzling (and basically unworkable for those with musical instruments in mind).
Perhaps bards are more like musical theater actors - not musicians per se, but possessing great musicality as but one part of a larger performative package. (That is, Neil Patrick Harris = bard. Jimmy Page = weird magus archetype or something.)
|
Creative Director
|
And folks who champion "The book is better than the movie" should read Peter Benchley's "Jaws" to see a good case where the movie is better than the book.Other examples I can think of from the top of my head include The Graduate, Blade Runner, and just about any Ian Flemming novel.
[Edited to add...]
What's your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
John Carpenter's "The Thing." Which was originally a short story, so if you're asking for a novel adaptation...
Probably Jaws.
On the subject of bards, isn't it a little strange that you can't inspire competence with perform (oratory)?
|
Creative Director
|
How would you handle this as a DM:
One of my players has to miss the session while we are the middle of a dungeon. I can't really think of an easy way to write him out of the session (I usually try not to call a game for the night mid-dungeon because of situations like this)
I don't want to run his character for him because A: I don't keep my player's sheets and B: I had a DM do that to me one time and killed off my character, kinda ticked me off.
For added info, they're in Oblivion in Shackled City, tonight is the fight against Vhalantru (who is a Xacarba rather than a Beholder).
I would just have the player's character be there once he shows up without bothering to include a reason why he wasn't there in the previous session and now suddenly is. This is a great case of the verisimilitude of the game needing to take a back seat to the fact that it's a game and you shouldn't punish a player for not being present in a session any more than missing the session and its fun and XP and whatnot is already a punishment.
In this case, where you know before hand that the player's going to miss the session and you don't want to run the character, just run the game normally for the players that DO show up and assume that the missing character's there, just standing in the background quietly and not helping or hindering the group.
Again... might not sit well if you're looking for total realism in the game, but it's a game, and it can handle not being totally realistic now and then.
|
Creative Director
|
James:
Will we be finding out any more about Razmir's past/the founding of Razmiran any time soon? I am fascinated by him as a character, and I feel that he does not have nearly enough material that I can find. Some burning questions I have are:
1: Is Razmir his real/original name? If so is it a surname?
2: Did he actually enter the starstone cathedral, fail the test, and successfully emerge? Or, did he simply tell people he went in, but there were no witnesses/it was all a Houdini-esque illusion?
3: How old is he?
4: Are there any contemporaries from his time as a "mortal" who would remember Razmir as the man he was before his rise to power that are still alive?
1) Probably his real name, but not 100% sure yet.
2) Nope; he never entered it.
3) Venerable. Close to death from old age.
4) Yup!
|
Creative Director
|
Questions stemming from my intent to play a samsaran conjurer that follows Pharasma in my next campaign -
1) If a wizard took a whippoorwill as a familiar, what should be the associated benefit? Would the whippoorwill have a spoken language like parrot, raven, or thrush familiars? For comparison, parrots, raven,s and thrushes respectively give bonuses to linguistics, appraise, and diplomacy. I'd probably give a whippoorwill the same stat block as a thrush, since they're about the same size.
2) Will additional psychopomps be statted out in the Inner Sea Bestiary? If not, are there any plans to include more psychopomps in later Adventure Path books?
Thanks!
1) The easy solution is to treat the whipporwill as a thrush (see Ultimate Magic)... but I would consider giving it a more appropriate psychopomp feel. Maybe it grants the wizard a bonus to Heal checks, or to stabilization checks, or just to Fortitude saves.
2) There are, I believe, 3 new psychopomps in Inner Sea Bestiary, and a fourth one coming soon in, I believe, Shattered Star #4.