Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs,
You are the Creative Director of Paizo. Could you please describe your job function as according to the rules stipulated in the "Up-Goer Five Challenge?"
Thank you!
I make sure that all of the things in our world are right. If they are not right, I change them so that they are. I get to make up stuff that I like and I hope you like it too. And I get to make people write those things for us. And when they don't do it right I fix it to make sure there are as few not right parts as possible.
I make sure that all of the things in our world are right. If they are not right, I change them so that they are. I get to make up stuff that I like and I hope you like it too. And I get to make people write those things for us. And when they don't do it right I fix it to make sure there are as few not right parts as possible.Mr. Jacobs,
You are the Creative Director of Paizo. Could you please describe your job function as according to the rules stipulated in the "Up-Goer Five Challenge?"
Thank you!
And we thank you for it.
Barring deities and the like, who would you say is the greatest mathematician on Golarion?
How'd Paizo manage to include Saint Cuthbert's Mace in Artifacts and Legends? I thought that'd be restricted by WotC?
That book is a great read, btw. Mr. Schnieder did a fantastic job with it.
How'd Paizo manage to include Saint Cuthbert's Mace in Artifacts and Legends? I thought that'd be restricted by WotC?
Saint Cuthbert is a historical figure, and the bits in the entry for his mace are consistent with the historical figure, including the "magic-starved world". Earth is pretty low on magic compared to Golarion (or, say, Oerth).
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Although there would appear to be some magic around... *looks meaningfully at a mad Russian monk*
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If you let a magus take the feat, you should let a witch take it. My preference is to not let either; keep it a wizard feat. Magi and witches already have plenty of toys.By the same reasoning would you say that a Witch could take Spell Mastery?---URGENT---
Magus Class:
the magus count half his levels as a fighter class.
can i asume that the other half count as a wizard for take feats too?i want to buy Spell Mastery Feat but my Gm told me "just for wiz"
spell focus, the same thing, etc.That's a question your GM gets to answer. If he says something is just for wizards, then it's just for wizards.
That said... the magus was designed long after the Spell Mastery feat, and since magi prepare and cast spells in the same way as a wizard (down to and including the spellbook), then it's not an unusual house rule to say that Spell Mastery would work for magi as well...
But your GM gets to make that call for your game, not me.
Seeing the magi class rules, it seem a bit redundant to give them the spell Mastery feat.
They get knowledge pool at 7th level:(Su): At 7th level, when a magus prepares his magus spells, he can decide to expend 1 or more points from his arcane pool, up to his Intelligence bonus. For each point he expends, he can treat any one spell from the magus spell list as if it were in his spellbook and can prepare that spell as normal that day. If he does not cast spells prepared in this way before the next time he prepares spells, he loses those spells. He can also cast spells added in this way using his spell recall ability, but only until he prepares spells again.
With that ability a magus can prepare any spell on his spell list.
When you have a spell prepared you can write it in your spellbook and with his spell capped at level 6 a magus would spend at most 6 hours to write them (granted, he would need a intelligence of 22 to do that).If your GM allow that you get full access to the whole spellist for the magus.
[Mine said: "No! You can't write the spells you get that way in your spellbook" when he explained to him that little trick ;-) ]
The ability is meant to work that way or it is a unnoticed by product of the magi using a spellbook?
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Creative Director
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How'd Paizo manage to include Saint Cuthbert's Mace in Artifacts and Legends? I thought that'd be restricted by WotC?
That book is a great read, btw. Mr. Schnieder did a fantastic job with it.
Yeah; there are certain things, like Baba Yaga and the mace and Asmodeus that have had a presence in D&D from the start or nearly so that are actaully from real world mythology or history. You'll note that the Pathfinder version of the mace is quite different than the one from D&D, for example...
Do you know if perhaps we will see more stuff in Tian Xia? Mostly more adventures modules and such?
Seeing the magi class rules, it seem a bit redundant to give them the spell Mastery feat.
They get knowledge pool at 7th level (...)
With that ability a magus can prepare any spell on his spell list.
When you have a spell prepared you can write it in your spellbook...
You would need to scribe a Scroll with that memorized spell slot first, and then use the scroll as a basis to add a spell to your spellbook (having a spell memorized is un-needed and irrelevant to adding spells to a spellbook) so you would need to pay both Scroll Scribing cost and scribing cost to add it to the spellbook, but it looks like you could do that in the end.
That probably isn't intended, but in the end, is it that overpowered? You have the same # of spell slots, so if these are the spells you want to cast often, you should have them anyways. Basically, you would be investing a large amount of money (to have all spells) so that you might save a few arcane points on the days when you want to use the less-used magus spells. If it's so advantageous on those few days when you use the tactic, I don't see why spending the Arcane Points isn't worth it. On the rest of the days, you have your full Arcane Points AND all the wealth you would have put into the scrolls/spellbook can be spent on other gear. You could use the ability to just scribe a scroll of some of the spells, so you don't need to worry about finding them to copy, and if you use the scroll you can later re-scribe it without much problem... Or craft Staves or that sort of thing.
Personally, I don't like the ability even without 'exploits' for flavor/consistency reasons, it's just pointless blending of spontaneous/prepared dynamic, and there's no reason for Magus' to have it but Wizards and Witches don't, they are more Casting focused than the Magus so if it doesn't involve combat, the Magus shouldn't be better at it then them. I'd rather have seen Wizard schools implemented for the Magus, and/or a Sorceror Bloodline version of the Magus for Spontaneous Casting.
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Oh wow, that looks really cool. As a fan of aberrations, I can dig it. I can't wait to see what they do with the Grell.
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Creative Director
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Do you know if perhaps we will see more stuff in Tian Xia? Mostly more adventures modules and such?
There's not a lot coming in the future for Tian Xia support. Some stuff here and there, and we might do something big there in the future, but for now we're continuing to focus on the Inner Sea region.
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Creative Director
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So I found some concept art for the next version of D&D on DeviantArt. How do you like the aboleth? Personally I'd say it's a pretty neat take on it.
Interesting... makes them look a lot tougher physically which kinda makes them feel less tough mentally... I do like that they're going away from the classic look, though, since I still prefer the classic look that we've got for them in Pathfinder.
What was your favorite part of each of the three Dungeon APs?
Mr. Jacobs,
As much as I can imagine you love designing for a published world based on your home brew, do you ever miss getting to do design work for the beginning world of it all, Greyhawk?
For what it's worth, Golarion is one of the top settings to fire my imagination like Greyhawk did when I was younger. It's only other close competitors are the shadowrun world and dark sun.
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Seeing the magi class rules, it seem a bit redundant to give them the spell Mastery feat.
They get knowledge pool at 7th level (...)
With that ability a magus can prepare any spell on his spell list.
When you have a spell prepared you can write it in your spellbook...You would need to scribe a Scroll with that memorized spell slot first, and then use the scroll as a basis to add a spell to your spellbook (having a spell memorized is un-needed and irrelevant to adding spells to a spellbook) so you would need to pay both Scroll Scribing cost and scribing cost to add it to the spellbook, but it looks like you could do that in the end.
Replacing and Copying Spellbooks
A wizard can use the procedure for learning a spell to reconstruct a lost spellbook. If he already has a particular spell prepared, he can write it directly into a new book at the same cost required to write a spell into a spellbook. The process wipes the prepared spell from his mind, just as casting it would. If he does not have the spell prepared, he can prepare it from a borrowed spellbook and then write it into a new book.
Duplicating an existing spellbook uses the same procedure as replacing it, but the task is much easier. The time requirement and cost per page are halved.
As written, if you have a spell in a prepared slot you can write it in your spellbook.
Probably it isn't an intended mechanic, but you can do some interesting stuff this way.
Silly question:
If I use reduce person on myself, will I fill up faster from a meal given my reduced size? When the spell's duration ends and I return to my full size, do I immediately become eight times hungrier than I just was (on account of my size just increasing by x8) or does the food that I ate when I was Small magically expand in size to leave me just as satisfied as I just was?
Is this question A) pointless, B) silly, C) a waste of time, D) vital for a tyrannasaurus to know if he should accidentally swallow a Medium humanoid affected by reduce person?
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Creative Director
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Mr. Jacobs,
As much as I can imagine you love designing for a published world based on your home brew, do you ever miss getting to do design work for the beginning world of it all, Greyhawk?
For what it's worth, Golarion is one of the top settings to fire my imagination like Greyhawk did when I was younger. It's only other close competitors are the shadowrun world and dark sun.
I actually got a LOT of time in designing for Greyhawk, whether it was actually doing my own design (such as Saltmarsh in Dungeon Master's Guide II or Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk) or development of others' work (such as in so many adventures I developed and published in Dungeon). I sometimes miss those days, but I got a lot of time in with Greyhawk so I don't feel like there was much more I had hoped to do with the setting.
I'm delighted to hear that Golarion is as inspiring to folks today as Greyhawk was to me. :-)
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Creative Director
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Silly question:
If I use reduce person on myself, will I fill up faster from a meal given my reduced size? When the spell's duration ends and I return to my full size, do I immediately become eight times hungrier than I just was (on account of my size just increasing by x8) or does the food that I ate when I was Small magically expand in size to leave me just as satisfied as I just was?
Is this question A) pointless, B) silly, C) a waste of time, D) vital for a tyrannasaurus to know if he should accidentally swallow a Medium humanoid affected by reduce person?
The REAL question is what happens to a person who's been swallowed whole when the thing that swallowed them is changed in size?
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Creative Director
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Should characters who are fighting in melee need precise shot to avoid the penalty for shooting the enemy they're engaged in melee with?
If you're shooting someone with a range weapon while you're in melee range, and you're the only one attacking that person... that person isn't in melee when you shoot. He's being attacked at range... from only 5 feet away. No penalties, in other words, apart from the attack of opportunity.
That said... the magus was designed long after the Spell Mastery feat, and since magi prepare and cast spells in the same way as a wizard (down to and including the spellbook), then it's not an unusual house rule to say that Spell Mastery would work for magi as well...
But your GM gets to make that call for your game, not me.
The Magaambyan Arcanist is called out as being a prestige class for both wizards and witches, despite its focus on (and requirement to have) Spell Mastery. This seems to imply that the feat should work for any arcane caster who prepares spells, whether the spells are held in a book or in a familiar.
On hengeyokai: does it make sense to have a "hengeyokai" race as in 1st-3rd edition D&D, when Pathfinder already has kitsune and tanuki as a PC and monster race respectively? Hengeyokai is really a classification (semi-literally "shapeshifting magical creatures" under which many different species fall.
Hey, if an enemy is immune to critical hits, is it just immune to the multiplication of damage?
I mean, it doesn't make sense for an enemy to not take damage from, say, flaming burst, because a flaming burst isn't precision damage, doesn't rely on hitting any organs or anything.
I hope this makes sense, I'm tired as heck right now @n@
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Creative Director
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The Magaambyan Arcanist is called out as being a prestige class for both wizards and witches, despite its focus on (and requirement to have) Spell Mastery. This seems to imply that the feat should work for any arcane caster who prepares spells, whether the spells are held in a book or in a familiar.That said... the magus was designed long after the Spell Mastery feat, and since magi prepare and cast spells in the same way as a wizard (down to and including the spellbook), then it's not an unusual house rule to say that Spell Mastery would work for magi as well...
But your GM gets to make that call for your game, not me.
Or it implies that the designer of the prestige class forgot that Spell Mastery requires 1 level of Wizard to take. That said... I don't have Paths of Prestige handy... is Spell Mastery a requirement for the class?
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Creative Director
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On hengeyokai: does it make sense to have a "hengeyokai" race as in 1st-3rd edition D&D, when Pathfinder already has kitsune and tanuki as a PC and monster race respectively? Hengeyokai is really a classification (semi-literally "shapeshifting magical creatures" under which many different species fall.
I kind of feel like the role played by lycanthropes is the one the hengeyokai play too. But I also like the idea that the word could be used to categorize all animal-themed humanoid races under one word.
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Creative Director
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Hey, if an enemy is immune to critical hits, is it just immune to the multiplication of damage?
I mean, it doesn't make sense for an enemy to not take damage from, say, flaming burst, because a flaming burst isn't precision damage, doesn't rely on hitting any organs or anything.
I hope this makes sense, I'm tired as heck right now @n@
A creature that's immune to critical hits is only immune to the extra damage caused by a critical hit. It still takes the base weapon damage. That means you can't crit such a creature, and as a result, they are indeed immune to the extra damage from a weapon like a flaming burst weapon.
A creature that's immune to critical hits is only immune to the extra damage caused by a critical hit. It still takes the base weapon damage. That means you can't crit such a creature, and as a result, they are indeed immune to the extra damage from a weapon like a flaming burst weapon.Hey, if an enemy is immune to critical hits, is it just immune to the multiplication of damage?
I mean, it doesn't make sense for an enemy to not take damage from, say, flaming burst, because a flaming burst isn't precision damage, doesn't rely on hitting any organs or anything.
I hope this makes sense, I'm tired as heck right now @n@
well, that's just a bit silly :T
The REAL question is what happens to a person who's been swallowed whole when the thing that swallowed them is changed in size?Silly question:
If I use reduce person on myself, will I fill up faster from a meal given my reduced size? When the spell's duration ends and I return to my full size, do I immediately become eight times hungrier than I just was (on account of my size just increasing by x8) or does the food that I ate when I was Small magically expand in size to leave me just as satisfied as I just was?
Is this question A) pointless, B) silly, C) a waste of time, D) vital for a tyrannasaurus to know if he should accidentally swallow a Medium humanoid affected by reduce person?
Actually, I really was curious about eating food while reduced. I wanted to know if you could essentially end world hunger by shrinking everyone down at meal time, filling someone up on less food. A kid fills up pretty quick on something like a PB&J while it would barely scratch an adult's hunger.
BUT your question is better! SO ANSWER YOUR OWN QUESTION, JAMES!
Or it implies that the designer of the prestige class forgot that Spell Mastery requires 1 level of Wizard to take. That said... I don't have Paths of Prestige handy... is Spell Mastery a requirement for the class?
Spell Mastery is a requirement for the class, and the Halcyon Magic class feature -- which allows the Arcanist to learn a few druid spells -- reads "The Magaambyan arcanist automatically learns this spell and adds it to her spellbook (or familiar if she is a witch)."
The strongest argument I can make for removing the class requirement on Spell Mastery is that while both it and the fighter-specific feats are from the Core Rulebook, in the days of the corebook there were several fighting classes with full BAB, but only one single casting class that prepared spells (as opposed to spontaneously cast or prayed for).
1. Furries (and other clades from the Orangina ad) don't interest Sorshen, but would something like Ruto be humanoid enough for her?
2. What would Sorshen think of villains in Taken? What of the hero?
3. What ways can I use unseen servant in combat?
4. Do I need a whole 25,000 gp diamond for wish or just 25K gp worth of diamonds?
5. What does a 25K gp diamond look like?
6. Can I use magic to fuse lesser-value diamonds into a 25K gp one?
7. Are there any diamond mines in or near Varisia? If yes, where?
8. What's the geology of southeastern Varisia like?
9. What would a dwarf fortress (say, Janderhoff) be vulnerable to?
10 What protection do banks have against teleporting thieves?
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Creative Director
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well, that's just a bit silly :TA creature that's immune to critical hits is only immune to the extra damage caused by a critical hit. It still takes the base weapon damage. That means you can't crit such a creature, and as a result, they are indeed immune to the extra damage from a weapon like a flaming burst weapon.Hey, if an enemy is immune to critical hits, is it just immune to the multiplication of damage?
I mean, it doesn't make sense for an enemy to not take damage from, say, flaming burst, because a flaming burst isn't precision damage, doesn't rely on hitting any organs or anything.
I hope this makes sense, I'm tired as heck right now @n@
Change it in your games then. That's one of the strengths of a tabletop RPG.
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Creative Director
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The REAL question is what happens to a person who's been swallowed whole when the thing that swallowed them is changed in size?Silly question:
If I use reduce person on myself, will I fill up faster from a meal given my reduced size? When the spell's duration ends and I return to my full size, do I immediately become eight times hungrier than I just was (on account of my size just increasing by x8) or does the food that I ate when I was Small magically expand in size to leave me just as satisfied as I just was?
Is this question A) pointless, B) silly, C) a waste of time, D) vital for a tyrannasaurus to know if he should accidentally swallow a Medium humanoid affected by reduce person?
Actually, I really was curious about eating food while reduced. I wanted to know if you could essentially end world hunger by shrinking everyone down at meal time, filling someone up on less food. A kid fills up pretty quick on something like a PB&J while it would barely scratch an adult's hunger.
BUT your question is better! SO ANSWER YOUR OWN QUESTION, JAMES!
POP!
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Creative Director
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1. Furries (and other clades from the Orangina ad) don't interest Sorshen, but would something like Ruto be human enough for her?
2. What would Sorshen think of villains in Taken? What of the hero?
3. What ways can I use unseen servant in combat?
4. Do I need a whole 25,000 gp diamond for wish or just 25K gp worth of diamonds?
5. What does a 25K gp diamond look like?
6. Can I use magic to fuse lesser-value diamonds into a 25K gp one?
7. Are there any diamond mines in or near Varisia? If yes, where?
8. What's the geology of southeastern Varisia like?
9. What would a dwarf fortress (say, Janderhoff) be vulnerable to?
10 What protection do banks have against teleporting thieves?
1) Would depend on her mood.
2) That... seems like a random question. She'd probably identify with the hero and not the villains though.
3) By having the servant pick up dropped objects, either to carry and hand them to you or allies, or to keep enemies from retrieving things that have been disarmed. By opening and closing doors for you; it's a move action to open a door, and if you keep closing doors on the enemy, they have to "waste" actions to get to you. By delivering healing potions or other small objects when you don't have the movement left to do so.
4) GM Preference. I prefer to say just 25K worth of diamonds.
5) Big.
6) I suppose.
7) Deep underground, perhaps, in the part of the Darklands known as the Crystal Womb. I'm pretty sure that there are no major surface diamond mines in the region though.
8) The Siera Nevadas of California.
9) Whatever would make a good story. Nothing in particular comes to mind for Janderhoff, which means anything would probably work (disease, a demonic invasion, treason, earthquake, infestation of gremlins, invasion from the Darklands, etc.)
10) The fact that teleporation isn't super common, first of all. Teleporting thieves wouldn't be bothered to hit small banks, since they're already pretty rich if they can teleport (since we don't assume teleportation effects kick in until, at the earliest, 7th level with dimension door), and those that do want to protect against teleportation likely do so via things like dimensional lock or forbiddance. The most potent would put their vaults into a demiplane or a dimensional rift or the like, since you can't teleport across a planar boundary really...
So I was running through my players through Rise of the Runelords. We are soon about to begin the Thistletop part of the campaign (PS this has been a great AP to run for a first time player).
Anyway, Erylium escaped the battle in the catacombs of wrath, mostly due to the PCs not really being able to do much damage, at the same time as her only being able to do minimal damage to the team (Bad rolls + our good ranged combat character not being able to make the game).
I would like Erylium to return as a foe. Where would her return best fit in campaign wise?
Also, our there any modules that are set in Kaer Maga? one of the PCs is from there, and it might be nice to have a one-off we can play when other players can't make it
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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3. What ways can I use unseen servant in combat?3) By having the servant pick up dropped objects, either to carry and hand them to you or allies, or to keep enemies from retrieving things that have been disarmed. By opening and closing doors for you; it's a move action to open a door, and if you keep closing doors on the enemy, they have to "waste" actions to get to you. By delivering healing potions or other small objects when you don't have the movement left to do so.
They're also good for carrying a torch or lanern so no one in the party needs to use a hand to do so, or carrying a weapon to hand off, so you don't need to spend an action to draw one.
Hey James, Some questions.
1) Which of the Golarion Gods do you think fans don't get? If any? (I personaly think Calistria most people don't get as they seem to focus on revenge for petty reasons, but that is mostly dealing with my group.)
2) Which city would you like to develope more?
3) Which country would you like to develpoe more?
4) Are we going to see a Drow of Golarion Player's companion any time soon?
5) Did Sorshen whorsipped Calistria?
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Creative Director
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So I was running through my players through Rise of the Runelords. We are soon about to begin the Thistletop part of the campaign (PS this has been a great AP to run for a first time player).
Anyway, Erylium escaped the battle in the catacombs of wrath, mostly due to the PCs not really being able to do much damage, at the same time as her only being able to do minimal damage to the team (Bad rolls + our good ranged combat character not being able to make the game).
I would like Erylium to return as a foe. Where would her return best fit in campaign wise?
Also, our there any modules that are set in Kaer Maga? one of the PCs is from there, and it might be nice to have a one-off we can play when other players can't make it
The best place for her to come back is near the end of Thistletop; have her encountered with Nualia, so that the PCs can learn of their relationship.
WE've done several adventures set in and under Kaer Maga.
Seven Swords of Sin
The Godsmouth Heresy
And part 3 of Shattered Star, "The Asylum Stone"
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Creative Director
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Hey James, Some questions.
1) Which of the Golarion Gods do you think fans don't get? If any? (I personaly think Calistria most people don't get as they seem to focus on revenge for petty reasons, but that is mostly dealing with my group.)
2) Which city would you like to develope more?
3) Which country would you like to develpoe more?
4) Are we going to see a Drow of Golarion Player's companion any time soon?
5) Did Sorshen whorsipped Calistria?
1) Well... Sarenrae's the one that seems to be the most difficult for some of our authors to get. She's often mistaken for a much more violent and warmongering deity it seems, which is kinda the opposite of what she is. As for players... not sure. Pharasma, perhaps?
2) Kintargo or Vyre.
3) Numeria.
4) Nope. Probably never. Drow are not meant to be PC races; that's a really Forgotten Realms thing, and I'd rather not poach that from them.
5) Nope.
4) Are we going to see a Drow of Golarion Player's companion any time soon?
4) Nope. Probably never. Drow are not meant to be PC races; that's a really Forgotten Realms thing, and I'd rather not poach that from them.
This is kinda of annoying for two reasons...
1) You guys have done orcs and Goblins....and now you guys are going to do kobolds. I can see orcs due to the half orc connection....but Goblins and Kobolds meant to be PC races....as much as drow at least...if not less. Heck most players who want to play those two races tend to be players who don't get invited back to games.
2) You do realize that FR setting has been around for so long and so much was written about it that Golarion already 'poaches' on it in serveral areas.
I love the Realms but it annoys me when I get a response to things like drow PCs as 'That is a FR thing' when I was doing it way before the FRs was out.