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I'm honestly glad that ninjas don't have the same alignment restrictions as assassins. I don't see a moral difference between getting a contract to kill someone and getting paid to slaughter goblins/kobalds. Plus, as a ninja, you don't have to be a contract killer. You can focus on scouting and subterfuge more so than being an assassin.
Is Erik going to be able to write another AP instalment in the foreseeable future? Please?
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Would Improved/Greater Multiweapon Fighting be too broken to ever exist?He, like all multi-armed creatures, needs to get Multiweapon Fighting if he wants to maximize that. He would gain his full attacks with one weapon and one attack with all the rest.Does the Kasatha(from the ARG) have the ability to attack with a weapon in each hand, as full round action?
Is he limited by the number of attacks outlined in two-weapon fighting, even though he is multi-armed, and qualifies for the Multiweapon Fighting feat?
Does he have a number of attacks, like the Marilith, equal to the number of weapons wielded?
For a PC? Absolutely.
For a monster? Probably, since that messes hard with the damage assumptions of CR; it'd make monsters that have multiple arms suddenly do way more damage than they should, so that you should up their CR to account for it but that only makes everything else about them too weak.
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I'm honestly glad that ninjas don't have the same alignment restrictions as assassins. I don't see a moral difference between getting a contract to kill someone and getting paid to slaughter goblins/kobalds. Plus, as a ninja, you don't have to be a contract killer. You can focus on scouting and subterfuge more so than being an assassin.
Let's try not to let an alignment argument break out here. ABSOLUTELY a topic for a different thread.
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Dear James Jacobs
Do enchantments on bows carry over onto arrows? By which I mean, for example, an arrow fired from a +1 bow get +1 to hit and damage. Same goes for things like adding flaming to your bow. I always remember back in AD&D where a +1 to a bow only gave you a bonus to hit and all damage bonuses must be on the arrow itself, otherwise what reason is there to get magic arrows instead of enchanting the bow?
Yes.
Any plans for Aldern Foxgloves sister to pop up? Maybe she already has and I've missed it?
3) I kind of agree; they should be non-good. The design team didn't think so, though... you'd have to ask them (particularly Jason) why they decided to not have an alignment restriction for the ninja.Presumably because of the long tradition of chop sock movies which feature Ninjas as heroic characters? Not to mention a spate of children shows like "Suprah Ninjas", being the latest example.
One word: Batman.
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Well, you either went to bed very late, or got up very early (for you), hopefully the latter so you see this before my game in five hours lol.
I am wondering why have both Ashamintallu and Ayandamhla in the back story. Does Ayandamahla play a role later on? I am considering just making it the one being so as to keep the story from getting too much for my players to follow.
Hi James, can the "fey creature" template (Bestiary 3) be applied to a human? I assume it can, though I also assume its not intended for use by players, but rather for NPCs?
Any plans for Aldern Foxgloves sister to pop up? Maybe she already has and I've missed it?
1) Can a psychopomp's spirit sense see through illusions?
A psychopomp notices, locates, and can distinguish between living and undead creatures within 60 feet, just as if it had the blindsight ability.
Blindsight sees through invisibility, blur, and displacement, but doesn't explicitly get through anything else. I'd assume that Spirit Sense doesn't either.
2) What's the oddest thing you've seen taken as a familiar in the games you've run?
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Any plans for Aldern Foxgloves sister to pop up? Maybe she already has and I've missed it?
Yes.
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Well, you either went to bed very late, or got up very early (for you), hopefully the latter so you see this before my game in five hours lol.
I am wondering why have both Ashamintallu and Ayandamhla in the back story. Does Ayandamahla play a role later on? I am considering just making it the one being so as to keep the story from getting too much for my players to follow.
Got up very early after a particularly harrowing tsunami nightmare.
Whether or not the PCs ever learn about Ayandamhla is up to you.
The reason she exists in the adventure is because that's one way I justified the "downgrade" in difficulty of the Lady's Light so that it could be a lower level adventure. If I left the succubus in charge of the Lady's Light be the same one that was one of Sorshen's more powerful allies and minions be the boss of that adventure... the adventure would have to be for 17th level PCs. By having Ayandamhla escape the Lady's Light and thus set a precident for the more powerful guardians of the location to drift away as well, I can logically present what could have been a very high level adventure as a lower level one.
You haven't seen the last of Ayandamhla, though... although she certainly doesn't have any more roles to play in Shattered Star.
Is Erik going to be able to write another AP instalment in the foreseeable future? Please?I would love him to do so, but Paizo keeps him busy enough that he, alas, does not have time to write anything of that magnitude these days.
How disappointing. :(
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James,
As I recall, it's been noted that Shatter Star was influenced by or a sequal to several of the earlier APs, most notably Rise of the Runelords, Second Darkness and Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Will we soon see another AP that is a sequal to or influence by some of the other earlier APs?
Not soon... but eventually. In fact... if I have my way, Shattered Star itself will be getting a sequel some day...
Until then, we have no plans to do another sequel. As reader response continues to come in, though... that could well change.
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Hi James, can the "fey creature" template (Bestiary 3) be applied to a human? I assume it can, though I also assume its not intended for use by players, but rather for NPCs?
To be honest... NOTHING in a Bestiary is intended for use by players. That's why we don't have pages for humans and elves and halflings and so on.
There are certainly some good contenders for PC races in the Bestiaries, but we put them in the bestiaries because we wanted to give the GM greater control over whether or not he wants to let these non-core races be PC options.
The same applies to all templates.
The fey creature template can absolutely be applied to a human. The resulting creature is FAR more powerful than a typical human though, and allowing a fey creature human in a party is a good way to have that one player character overshadow the entire rest of the group. Which can not only make it very difficult for the GM to build encounters that challenge the whole party, but can also breed resentment and jealousy among the players themselves.
Do you ever use nightmares you have as sources of inspiration for products you author, or plots you outline? (Inspired by your mention of your tsunami dream).
Thanks for answering all our questions!
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You haven't seen the last of Ayandamhla, though... although she certainly doesn't have any more roles to play in Shattered Star.
Wrath of the Righteous? :)
Speaking of possible cross-AP foreshadowing:
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1) Can a psychopomp's spirit sense see through illusions?
A psychopomp notices, locates, and can distinguish between living and undead creatures within 60 feet, just as if it had the blindsight ability.Blindsight sees through invisibility, blur, and displacement, but doesn't explicitly get through anything else. I'd assume that Spirit Sense doesn't either.
2) What's the oddest thing you've seen taken as a familiar in the games you've run?
1) Spirit sense works JUST like blind sight, save that it only works on living or undead creatures. Blindsight is fooled by illusions, so spirit sense would be as well. As written. It kinda makes sense that it wouldnt' be fooled, though. Up to the GM on that one, I guess.
2) An imp that ended up being more than just a familiar... or shall I say, ended up being VERY familiar with her master.
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You haven't seen the last of Ayandamhla, though... although she certainly doesn't have any more roles to play in Shattered Star.Wrath of the Righteous? :)
Speaking of possible cross-AP foreshadowing:
** spoiler omitted **
No, not Wrath of the Righteous.
And since Rob developed both Jade Regent and Reign of Winter... I wouldn't put it past him setting up that as foreshadowing. He's a smart guy!
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Do you ever use nightmares you have as sources of inspiration for products you author, or plots you outline? (Inspired by your mention of your tsunami dream).
Thanks for answering all our questions!
All the time. I'd have to say that tsunamis are, in fact, the number 1 star of my nightmares, and have been for pretty much forever. And you'll note that we've had two tsunami events show up in Pathfinder Adventure Paths so far.
And no problem! Is fun!
two questions:
1: Does Sarenrae like/often employ Peris? It seems like she would, them being fiery and about redemption.
2: Does it seem very contradictory to you to have an Alchemist be both a Vivisectionist and a Chirurgeon? I kind of get the image of a very grumpy, "I don't like people" kind of healer who is nonetheless very good at it, and good with a scalpel.
3 (I lied): Do you think more witches are Neutral or Evil than Good? Some of the choices on their spell list seem to support that, but they do get healing as well.
Freedom of movement lets you move and attack normally while underwater?
does this mean that you fall like a rock to the bottom of any body of water you fall into? What does "move normally" mean?
Does Freedom of movement negate Feather Fall?
What happens to a characters equipment when completely submerged in water(Scrolls, spell book, powders)? What are some good mundane ways to protect against water since adventures will undoubtedly get surprised submerged eventually?
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two questions:
1: Does Sarenrae like/often employ Peris? It seems like she would, them being fiery and about redemption.
2: Does it seem very contradictory to you to have an Alchemist be both a Vivisectionist and a Chirurgeon? I kind of get the image of a very grumpy, "I don't like people" kind of healer who is nonetheless very good at it, and good with a scalpel.
3 (I lied): Do you think more witches are Neutral or Evil than Good? Some of the choices on their spell list seem to support that, but they do get healing as well.
1) Absolutely yes.
2) Yes. It also seems overly complex.
3) I don't really see witches as being more of any alignment... unless you look at Golarion as a whole and discount the presence of any PC witches. In that case, there are more evil witches than good ones, if only because of the presence of Irrisen.
James,
As I recall, it's been noted that Shatter Star was influenced by or a sequal to several of the earlier APs, most notably Rise of the Runelords, Second Darkness and Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Will we soon see another AP that is a sequal to or influence by some of the other earlier APs?
Not soon... but eventually. In fact... if I have my way, Shattered Star itself will be getting a sequel some day...
Until then, we have no plans to do another sequel. As reader response continues to come in, though... that could well change.
With most APs ending around level 15 and the new Mythic rules coming out to bring PCs up to taking out CR 30 threats, sequels to some of the existing APs is definitely something I would like to see. We haven't played Shattered Star yet since we're 4/6 of the way through Carrion Crown and I'm keeping my eyes trained on Wrath of the Righteous for our next AP, but I can tell you that if a sequel did come out for Shattered Star, or any existing AP really, that would probably boost the original to the very top of my "to-play" list in anticipation of playing the upcoming sequel.
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3) I don't really see witches as being more of any alignment... unless you look at Golarion as a whole and discount the presence of any PC witches. In that case, there are more evil witches than good ones, if only because of the presence of Irrisen.
3 (I lied): Do you think more witches are Neutral or Evil than Good? Some of the choices on their spell list seem to support that, but they do get healing as well.
I've always hated the idea that positive energy (aka healing) is good and negative energy is bad. Sure, one is good and one is bad from a Pavlovian "this one hurts me and this one makes me feel good" sense, but a morally evil person can use positive energy to heal himself and a righteous person can use negative energy to smite her foes. There's a reason that healing spells don't have the good descriptor and inflict spells don't have the evil descriptor.
On that note, I've always hated the idea of conjuring energy from the positive / negative plane to begin with. I personally liked how 2nd Edition did it; where healing magic was part of the necromancy school. I feel like it was only changed because people associate the word "necro" with "evil" instead of its true Latin roots, where "necro" simply means "life." I blame close-minded thinking like that as the reason we can't have white wizards and white necromancers in the modern-day era. On that note, this is one of the big reasons I like the witch; parts of her spell list seem almost like a modern-day shout out to what necromancy should be.
Edit: In an attempt to stave off any hostile T-Rex attacks for not actually asking a question, as a multi-edition gamer, where do you stand on the healing school fence James? Do you prefer conjuration (healing) or necromancy?
I feel like it was only changed because people associate the word "necro" with "evil" instead of its true Latin roods, where "necro" simply means "life."
To nitpick, "necro" is from the Greek and means "corpse."
I feel like it was only changed because people associate the word "necro" with "evil" instead of its true Latin roods, where "necro" simply means "life."To nitpick, "necro" is from the Greek and means "corpse."
In your link, the translation necr-, when used before a vowel as in "necro," lists "death" as a possible translation. Considering all of the spells that outright kill living creatures, in Pathfinder necromancy better translates to "manipulation of death" rather than "manipulation of corpses," which makes sense considering that more necromancy spells are designed to kill their target or manipulate their state of life rather than having an entire school based around making skeletons dance.
Death and life are a two-sided coin, however. If there is no life, then everything is dead and the term "death" is redundant because of a lack of an alternate state of being. You can even see this being played with slightly in Ultimate Magic, where the spell sands of time manipulates the target's life energy, making them older by tampering with their life force.
The thing is, if you can tamper with things for the worse, you should be able to tamper with them for the better. Healing, making creatures younger, actually returning the soul to the body, and so on. Sometimes I wonder if going the 3.5 Psionics route of having unique spells for characters who specialize in a specific school of magic would have been the best route.
So while I concede that my mentioning of "necro" meaning life was inaccurate and rather foolish, the overall message of my post isn't undermined by it in the slightest.
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3) I don't really see witches as being more of any alignment... unless you look at Golarion as a whole and discount the presence of any PC witches. In that case, there are more evil witches than good ones, if only because of the presence of Irrisen.
3 (I lied): Do you think more witches are Neutral or Evil than Good? Some of the choices on their spell list seem to support that, but they do get healing as well.
I've always hated the idea that positive energy (aka healing) is good and negative energy is bad. Sure, one is good and one is bad from a Pavlovian "this one hurts me and this one makes me feel good" sense, but a morally evil person can use positive energy to heal himself and a righteous person can use negative energy to smite her foes. There's a reason that healing spells don't have the good descriptor and inflict spells don't have the evil descriptor.
On that note, I've always hated the idea of conjuring energy from the positive / negative plane to begin with. I personally liked how 2nd Edition did it; where healing magic was part of the necromancy school. I feel like it was only changed because people associate the word "necro" with "evil" instead of its true Latin roots, where "necro" simply means "life." I blame close-minded thinking like that as the reason we can't have white wizards and white necromancers in the modern-day era. On that note, this is one of the big reasons I like the witch; parts of her spell list seem almost like a modern-day shout out to what necromancy should be.
Edit: In an attempt to stave off any hostile T-Rex attacks for not actually asking a question, as a multi-edition gamer, where do you stand on the healing school fence James? Do you prefer conjuration (healing) or necromancy?
It's worth noting that in Pathfinder, positive energy is NOT "good" and negative energy is NOT "evil" in and of itself. In fact, I don't believe the energies were associated with good or evil in D&D either.
As for the question...
I prefer necromancy for healing magic, but that's not a change I felt comfortable trying to push through when Pathfinder was being made.
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I feel like it was only changed because people associate the word "necro" with "evil" instead of its true Latin roods, where "necro" simply means "life."To nitpick, "necro" is from the Greek and means "corpse."
True, but to nitpick right back, there's an awful lot of necromancy spells that have nothing to do with corpses.
My nitpick was solely etymological. I have no opinion on the "proper" classification of spells in schools (although I agree that conjuration seems like a stretch for healing).
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James,
I have a question concerning the Red Mantis. Would it even be possible for a member to leave the organization (and almost certainly the religion as well)?Or is the only real way to leave the Red Mantis to meet with Pharasma?
Thanks
It is possible for a member to leave the organization. That gets harder and harder the higher up in the organization you get, though.
And in fact, that's a plot point of a novel I hope to some day write...
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There's a number of references in places in the Inner Sea Region about large protrusions from the ground covered in varied runes that seem to do nothing but sit there and absorb lightning. Each time they are mentioned as having an "unknown purpose" and as far as I can tell, none of the APs have dealt with this. I know that you can't tell me what their purpose is, but...are these magical lightning rods related in some way? Feels kind of conspiracy-theory-ish to me.
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There's a number of references in places in the Inner Sea Region about large protrusions from the ground covered in varied runes that seem to do nothing but sit there and absorb lightning. Each time they are mentioned as having an "unknown purpose" and as far as I can tell, none of the APs have dealt with this. I know that you can't tell me what their purpose is, but...are these magical lightning rods related in some way? Feels kind of conspiracy-theory-ish to me.
Can you cite a specific example?
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And since Rob developed both Jade Regent and Reign of Winter... I wouldn't put it past him setting up that as foreshadowing. He's a smart guy!
Awesome. Thanks!
Also! Jade Regent has been really, really, really good. We just had an intense RP-heavy session in what's probably the fourth book.
Thanks for that AP. :)
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Also also, have you ever heard of cibet44's take on Curse of the Crimson Throne's first major NPC ally? What did you think of it?
It sounds like it would require more work to keep the beginning details and moments intact, but it nearly floored me when that take was first suggested.
Hey James,
Was wondering if Amaya Kaijitsu is going to have any significant role in any upcoming adventure path's/adventures given the rest of her family has at one point or another?
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There's a number of references in places in the Inner Sea Region about large protrusions from the ground covered in varied runes that seem to do nothing but sit there and absorb lightning. Each time they are mentioned as having an "unknown purpose" and as far as I can tell, none of the APs have dealt with this. I know that you can't tell me what their purpose is, but...are these magical lightning rods related in some way? Feels kind of conspiracy-theory-ish to me.
Conspiracy Theory #247: They are Spines on the back of Lightning Powered Kaiju?
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There's a number of references in places in the Inner Sea Region about large protrusions from the ground covered in varied runes that seem to do nothing but sit there and absorb lightning. Each time they are mentioned as having an "unknown purpose" and as far as I can tell, none of the APs have dealt with this. I know that you can't tell me what their purpose is, but...are these magical lightning rods related in some way? Feels kind of conspiracy-theory-ish to me.Can you cite a specific example?
Aye. There's some in Katapesh that have "runes for the use of benevolent magic" written on them. These are the only ones I can currently find, but I know I've seen others.
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There's a number of references in places in the Inner Sea Region about large protrusions from the ground covered in varied runes that seem to do nothing but sit there and absorb lightning. Each time they are mentioned as having an "unknown purpose" and as far as I can tell, none of the APs have dealt with this. I know that you can't tell me what their purpose is, but...are these magical lightning rods related in some way? Feels kind of conspiracy-theory-ish to me.
Conspiracy Theory #248: They are Spears from the Heavens pinning elder Gods/Kaiju/Giant Demons to the World.