Creative Director
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Hey James
I have a few doubts about two different witch archetypes.
If you don't mind, could you give me your thoughts about them?.1) One of my favorite characters from Greyhawk is Iggwilv, so when I saw the dimensional occultist archetype I was thrilled.
A summoning witch? yes please!But then I realised that the witch doesn't have access to any of the magic circle spells, witch are really important if you want to have a chance of succeeding in binding outsiders. The dimensional patron does not grant those spells either... Was that an oversight? If yes, would you consider ok to replace the blink spell granted by the dimensional patron by a magic circle against evil/law/chaos/good spell?
The patron provides the following bonus spells: 2nd—hold portal, 4th—rope trick, 6th—blink, 8th—dimensional anchor, 10th—lesser planar binding, 12th—planar binding, 14th—banishment, 16th— greater planar binding, 18th—gate.
2) The beast-bonded archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/witch/archetypes/paizo---witc h-archetypes/beast-bonded) grants you the class feature twin soul, wich is incredibly flavorful and awesome, but its a little unclear rules-wise.
Consider this: A witch that was about to die transfers her soul to her familiar and they both escape. Her original body is lost (perhaps destroyed). If she then tries to use the magic jar-like option of the power to take the body of the mayor of the village...
what happens to the mayor? Does he die, because there is no receptacle for his soul to occupy? Does his soul share his body with the witch's soul? Something else entirely?
1) I designed the dimensional occultist archetype for two specific purposes; my frustrations that Iggwilv couldn't be statted up as a witch because they don't have summoning spells, and my frustrations that the witch couldn't really build a Keziah Mason from Lovecraft's "Dreams in the Witch House." Replacing blink with magic circle is an EXCELLENT change. It was indeed an oversight.
2) I didn't have anything to do with the beast-bonded archetype though... so I don't have any insights into the design goals there. I would say that in a case like that the mayor's soul would probably go dormant while the witch was in charge, kind of like what you see in most possession movies; if the witch's soul is driven out, she dies and the mayor comes back to run his own body.
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Creative Director
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Hey there James, got a question for you. Do you happen to know why a scythe has a x4 critical multiplier? What makes having a farm tool hit a vital area more deadly than say the 4 foot hunk of steel that is the greatsword?
The fact that the grim reaper carries a scythe.
It may be a farm tool... but it's a weapon with a VERY strong legacy of being associated with scary stuff. It LOOKS scarey as a result. And giving it a x4 crit multiplier is a way the rules honor and support that flavor.
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Creative Director
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Generally speaking, how much are the various Chelaxian noble houses plotting to replace the Thrunes?
Are there any who, if they actually succeeded, could do so without the country descending into a War of the Roses/Time of Troubles (Russian Edition)/A Song of Ice and Fire type mess?
That amount of plotting varies from house to house. Some of the houses are actually fine and happy with the Thrunes and aren't plotting at all, while others do nothing BUT plot.
The last time a big upheaval happened in Cheliax's government, there was a 30 year civil war. I doubt that the next government upheaval will be able to avoid SOME sort of major time of troubles. Especially since I'm far to fond of Game of Thrones to let Cheliax off that hook.
Of course, I'm even MORE fond of Cheliax being ruled by diabolism. That's something that's really become an iconic element of our campaign setting, and as such, I'm not eager to have it come to an end anytime soon.
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Creative Director
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Hey James. Thanks again for helping me with the spell storing question, but I got another question for you...
Does the 'courageous' property increase the morale bonus gained from a barbarian's rage? For example, if you have a +2 Courageous/Furious amulet of mighty fists, would you then gain an additional +2 morale bonus to your Strength and Constitution while raging? thanks again for the help.
Dunno. I'm not all that familiar with that property; looks like a good question for the rules forum and a few FAQ clicks.
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Creative Director
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Underwater combat rules:
Ranged Attacks Underwater: Thrown weapons are ineffective underwater, even when launched from land. Attacks with other ranged weapons take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through, in addition to the normal penalties for range.Underwater Crossbow:
Merfolk Equipment
Merfolk have access to the following equipment.
Underwater Crossbow: An underwater crossbow functions like its normal counterpart above water, and can be used underwater. When fired underwater, the crossbow has a range increment of 20 feet. Anyone proficient with a normal crossbow can use an underwater crossbow.
As written the merfolk crossbow is an inferior weapon as its range is shortened and its quarrels still suffer from the "–2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through".
Probably the RAI is that the other missile weapon have shortened range increments of 5' when used underwater, but the RAW don't say that.
The questions from that are:
- missile weapons used underwater are meant to have a 5' range increment instead of their normal range increment?
- there is a more extensive explanation of underwater combat in some supplement, like the shackles pirate AP?(There is a thread about this in the Rule section, but I don't think anyone will use your reply as ammunitions, as the main argument is about confirming a critical with a second natural 20.)
This is a perfect example of a rules forum question that needs to be in the rules forum question.
Because there's always folks out there eager to use my replies as ammunition.
My personal preference, though, is that a weapon called "Underwater" anything needs to work better underwater than the non-underwater version works underwater... and that's it. If it works worse than the non-underwater version above water, that's fine with me, as long as it remains king of the hill underwater.
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Creative Director
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Total defense and quickened spells.
A strange thing that has come up in a magus discussion:
- when using total defense you can't make attacks of opportunity and use up a standard action;
- you can cast a quickened spell as a swift action;
- so it is possible to cast a quickened shocking grasp and use spellstrike to attack with your weapon.What are the attacks modifiers in that situation?
Casting any quickened spell with an attack roll it is possible to get an attack while using total defense for any spellcasting class, so I think it is fairly important question for plenty of characters.
No.
You can cast a quickened spell when you're using total defense. You can't use spellstrike though.
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Creative Director
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Would it be safe to say that the Thassilonian Empire had more "transhuman" projects going on besides the mezlans (and I suppose the Rune Giants)?
The part about mezlan volunteers really painted Thassilonians in a new way for me. :)
Yes.
There was a lot of stuff going on in Thassilon. The empire lasted for a couple thousand years, after all.
Courageous is a +1 property for melee weapons. Here is the description from the ultimate equipment...
This special ability can only be added to a melee weapon.
A courageous weapon fortifies the wielder's courage and morale in battle. The wielder gains a morale bonus on saving throws against fear equal to the weapon's enhancement bonus. In addition, any morale bonus the wielder gains from any other source is increased by half the weapon's enhancement bonus (minimum 1).
I'll go ahead and post it on the rules forum, but I'd like to hear your thoughts as well. Again, the question is if the morale bonus gained from the barbarian's rage power would apply to this (along with any other morale bonuses, like those gained from superstition, ghost rager, etc).
I'm having trouble wrapping my head on the chronology of Ancient Thassilon. Were the Runelords who overthrew Xin the same ones who are still in stasis, or people whom the "current" Runelords (Karzoug, Krune, etc.) wrested power from later on?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Now a question for James: What do you think of Games Workshop pulling this nonsense: GW being doffers* Pt 1
To sum it up - they got an e-book pulled from Amazon simply by citing the use of "Space Marine" in the title as copyright infringement. The book had nothing to do with their Warhammer 40k game, they're basically just trying to take legal control of the term "Space Marine" regardless of context. The details are all in the links.
EDIT: And is anyone else annoyed that the forum setup here doesn't let you just paste a link and let it automatically become a hyperlink?
It's not really hard to hyperlink.
James, what would this mean when Paizo wants to make minis for their line of Dominions of the Black Space Marines?
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So, the Runelord of Gluttony's weapon of choice is a scythe. But my question is, what sort? Is it the Core Rulebook farmer-implement-made-lethal (to fit in with his necromancy theme), or is it a real-world-war-scythe (link included for some visuals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_scythe]) to fit in with the "runelords use polearms" theme, since the war-scythe is essentially just another sort of polearm?
Good idea! Unless Karzoug's waking up, in which case a chunk of your soul will get siphoned off to his runewell when you die... so keep that in mind.
Hmm Sihedron tattoo. Good idea or bad idea?
Isn't that only if you're greedy?
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Underwater combat rules:
Ranged Attacks Underwater: Thrown weapons are ineffective underwater, even when launched from land. Attacks with other ranged weapons take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through, in addition to the normal penalties for range.Underwater Crossbow:
Merfolk Equipment
Merfolk have access to the following equipment.
Underwater Crossbow: An underwater crossbow functions like its normal counterpart above water, and can be used underwater. When fired underwater, the crossbow has a range increment of 20 feet. Anyone proficient with a normal crossbow can use an underwater crossbow.
As written the merfolk crossbow is an inferior weapon as its range is shortened and its quarrels still suffer from the "–2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through".
Probably the RAI is that the other missile weapon have shortened range increments of 5' when used underwater, but the RAW don't say that.
The questions from that are:
- missile weapons used underwater are meant to have a 5' range increment instead of their normal range increment?
- there is a more extensive explanation of underwater combat in some supplement, like the shackles pirate AP?(There is a thread about this in the Rule section, but I don't think anyone will use your reply as ammunitions, as the main argument is about confirming a critical with a second natural 20.)
This is a perfect example of a rules forum question that needs to be in the rules forum question.
Because there's always folks out there eager to use my replies as ammunition.
My personal preference, though, is that a weapon called "Underwater" anything needs to work better underwater than the non-underwater version works underwater... and that's it. If it works worse than the non-underwater version above water, that's fine with me, as long as it remains king of the hill underwater.
Yes, a "underwater" weapon working better than a normal weapon underwater seem only right. It was my thought asking this question.
I would start a tread in the rule section asking this question.|
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Total defense and quickened spells.
A strange thing that has come up in a magus discussion:
- when using total defense you can't make attacks of opportunity and use up a standard action;
- you can cast a quickened spell as a swift action;
- so it is possible to cast a quickened shocking grasp and use spellstrike to attack with your weapon.What are the attacks modifiers in that situation?
Casting any quickened spell with an attack roll it is possible to get an attack while using total defense for any spellcasting class, so I think it is fairly important question for plenty of characters.
No.
You can cast a quickened spell when you're using total defense. You can't use spellstrike though.
Another one for a rule thread and a FAQ.
I thank you for your answer, it seem logical, but it open even more questions.It should be applicable to all quickened spells with a to hit? Seem a logic extension.
But then what happen when you cast a quickened offensive spells that don't require a to hit while fighting defensively, like magic missile o color spray?
If the caster get to cast his spell we are using 2 weights and 2 measures for what is essentially the same situation. If not we have the problem of defining what is a offensive spell in a iron clad way.
[Diego scratch his head in puzzlement]
1) I designed the dimensional occultist archetype for two specific purposes; my frustrations that Iggwilv couldn't be statted up as a witch because they don't have summoning spells, and my frustrations that the witch couldn't really build a Keziah Mason from Lovecraft's "Dreams in the Witch House." Replacing blink with magic circle is an EXCELLENT change. It was indeed...Hey James
I have a few doubts about two different witch archetypes.
If you don't mind, could you give me your thoughts about them?.1) One of my favorite characters from Greyhawk is Iggwilv, so when I saw the dimensional occultist archetype I was thrilled.
A summoning witch? yes please!But then I realised that the witch doesn't have access to any of the magic circle spells, witch are really important if you want to have a chance of succeeding in binding outsiders. The dimensional patron does not grant those spells either... Was that an oversight? If yes, would you consider ok to replace the blink spell granted by the dimensional patron by a magic circle against evil/law/chaos/good spell?
The patron provides the following bonus spells: 2nd—hold portal, 4th—rope trick, 6th—blink, 8th—dimensional anchor, 10th—lesser planar binding, 12th—planar binding, 14th—banishment, 16th— greater planar binding, 18th—gate.
2) The beast-bonded archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/witch/archetypes/paizo---witc h-archetypes/beast-bonded) grants you the class feature twin soul, wich is incredibly flavorful and awesome, but its a little unclear rules-wise.
Consider this: A witch that was about to die transfers her soul to her familiar and they both escape. Her original body is lost (perhaps destroyed). If she then tries to use the magic jar-like option of the power to take the body of the mayor of the village...
what happens to the mayor? Does he die, because there is no receptacle for his soul to occupy? Does his soul share his body with the witch's soul? Something else entirely?
Thanks for your input James!
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Creative Director
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Courageous is a +1 property for melee weapons. Here is the description from the ultimate equipment...
I'll go ahead and post it on the rules forum, but I'd like to hear your thoughts as well. Again, the question is if the morale bonus gained from the barbarian's rage power would apply to this (along with any other morale bonuses, like those gained from superstition, ghost rager, etc).This special ability can only be added to a melee weapon.
A courageous weapon fortifies the wielder's courage and morale in battle. The wielder gains a morale bonus on saving throws against fear equal to the weapon's enhancement bonus. In addition, any morale bonus the wielder gains from any other source is increased by half the weapon's enhancement bonus (minimum 1).
Morale bonuses don't stack.
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Creative Director
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I'm having trouble wrapping my head on the chronology of Ancient Thassilon. Were the Runelords who overthrew Xin the same ones who are still in stasis, or people whom the "current" Runelords (Karzoug, Krune, etc.) wrested power from later on?
Of the runelords, Xanderghul and Sorshen are the only two who were never overthrown or replaced. They ruled their realms from the start to the end of Thassilon.
The other five runelords have had changes of rule. In some cases, only a few, but in ohters, dozens of runelords came and went druing Thassilon's time.
If Xin were alive to meet the 7 runelords in charge at the last days of Thassilon, he'd recognize Xanderghul and Sorshen, but not the rest.
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What might cause an Order of the Gate Hellknight Signifer to choose an adventuring life? I am working up a Devil summoning Signifer for PFS and from the flavor I read on the Order of the Gate, it doesn't seem they get out much.
A priest of Asmodeus might find himself blocked from advancement and seek out an alternate path to climb the hierarchy. Zarta Dralneen might be able to help if you gain favor with the Cheliax faction. But, I have a little trouble ranking the different groups though. It would seem like being a member of a Hellknight Order would be more important than being a member of a clergy or being a Pathfinder.
Maybe you can give me some RP hooks and insight into these groups that could solidify the character concept. Thanks.
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I'm having trouble wrapping my head on the chronology of Ancient Thassilon. Were the Runelords who overthrew Xin the same ones who are still in stasis, or people whom the "current" Runelords (Karzoug, Krune, etc.) wrested power from later on?Of the runelords, Xanderghul and Sorshen are the only two who were never overthrown or replaced. They ruled their realms from the start to the end of Thassilon.
The other five runelords have had changes of rule. In some cases, only a few, but in ohters, dozens of runelords came and went druing Thassilon's time.
If Xin were alive to meet the 7 runelords in charge at the last days of Thassilon, he'd recognize Xanderghul and Sorshen, but not the rest.
He would recognize Sorshen or she had done enough body sculpting through the years to be unrecognizable?
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Creative Director
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Now a question for James: What do you think of Games Workshop pulling this nonsense: http://io9.com/5969092/games-workshop-gets-someones-book-yanked-from-amazon -for-using-the-term-space-marine
http://io9.com/5982201/games-workshop-is-still-claiming-to-own-the-trademar k-to-space-marine-time-to-get-pissed-off
To sum it up - they got an e-book pulled from Amazon simply by citing the use of "Space Marine" in the title as copyright infringement. The book had nothing to do with their Warhammer 40k game, they're basically just trying to take legal control of the term "Space Marine" regardless of context. The details are all in the links.
Copyright and intellectual property is complicated.
On one hand, I think that someone using the term "space marine" should realize that, in most circles where your writing will be read, folks will associate that with Games Workshop, and as such you should consider not using that term simply because I think it's better to build new things. Something like "star ranger" or whatever works just as well.
On the other hand, I think that when companies get TOO protective of their intellectual properties and start throwing around lawsuits, that can do more damage to your public persona than the dilution of a phrase or concept you've built up as your own. That also said... copyright and intellectual properties MUST be defended when they're infringed upon, because if they aren't, you can lose the claim to them.
Personally, if I were Games Workshop, I would have tried to negotiate a less public settlement or accord with the author of that book. Lawsuits and public griefing should be the last resort. Of course, this is the first I've heard of this... so maybe this IS their last resort.
So... my take is that I think the author should have known better, and GW should have been less antagonistic (unless, of course, this is only the first public appearance of a long-standing feud between the two parties and is a no-other-choice option by GW).
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Creative Director
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Now a question for James: What do you think of Games Workshop pulling this nonsense: GW being doffers* Pt 1
To sum it up - they got an e-book pulled from Amazon simply by citing the use of "Space Marine" in the title as copyright infringement. The book had nothing to do with their Warhammer 40k game, they're basically just trying to take legal control of the term "Space Marine" regardless of context. The details are all in the links.
EDIT: And is anyone else annoyed that the forum setup here doesn't let you just paste a link and let it automatically become a hyperlink?
It's not really hard to hyperlink.
James, what would this mean when Paizo wants to make minis for their line of Dominions of the Black Space Marines?
It means nothing. The Dominion of the Black does not have Space Marines. And if they DID have something analogous, we'd make up a brand new name. But we don't have to, since the Dominion of the Black isn't a humanoid group and thus doesn't have Space Marines.
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Creative Director
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So, the Runelord of Gluttony's weapon of choice is a scythe. But my question is, what sort? Is it the Core Rulebook farmer-implement-made-lethal (to fit in with his necromancy theme), or is it a real-world-war-scythe (link included for some visuals [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_scythe]) to fit in with the "runelords use polearms" theme, since the war-scythe is essentially just another sort of polearm?
It's the normal old scythe from the Core Rulebook.
"Runelords use polearms" is in fact a pretty inaccurate statement.
A more accurate one would be to say "runelords use long-hafted weapons."
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Creative Director
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Isn't that only if you're greedy?Good idea! Unless Karzoug's waking up, in which case a chunk of your soul will get siphoned off to his runewell when you die... so keep that in mind.
Hmm Sihedron tattoo. Good idea or bad idea?
Yes... but for the purpose of the joke I was making I was willing to a) overlook that, or b) assume Rysky was greedy.
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Creative Director
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I thank you for your answer, it seem logical, but it open even more questions.
It should be applicable to all quickened spells with a to hit? Seem a logic extension.
But then what happen when you cast a quickened offensive spells that don't require a to hit while fighting defensively, like magic missile o color spray?
If the caster get to cast his spell we are using 2 weights and 2 measures for what is essentially the same situation. If not we have the problem of defining what is a offensive spell in a iron clad way.
[Diego scratch his head in puzzlement]
You can quicken any spell that has a casting time of 1 round or less. That includes a LOT of touch and ray spells. Since the delivery of a touch spell is part of the casting, yes, if you cast a quickened touch spell, you get to make a touch attack to deliver that spell as part of the swift action that the quickened spell utilizes.
The real question here, I suspect, is "How does Quicken Spell interact with a magus's spellstrike ability?" THAT'S what should get posted over on the rules forums.
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Creative Director
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What might cause an Order of the Gate Hellknight Signifer to choose an adventuring life? I am working up a Devil summoning Signifer for PFS and from the flavor I read on the Order of the Gate, it doesn't seem they get out much.
A priest of Asmodeus might find himself blocked from advancement and seek out an alternate path to climb the hierarchy. Zarta Dralneen might be able to help if you gain favor with the Cheliax faction. But, I have a little trouble ranking the different groups though. It would seem like being a member of a Hellknight Order would be more important than being a member of a clergy or being a Pathfinder.
Maybe you can give me some RP hooks and insight into these groups that could solidify the character concept. Thanks.
A desire to prove him/herself to the Hellknights? A need to seek long-term revenge? A direct order from a superior to spend a few years as an adventurer to get the lay of a new land?
PCs are usually exceptions to the rule. If an organization says "This group's members never leave the island they have vowed to guard," if there's ONE EXCEPTION to that who has left the island... having that one exception be a PC is pretty cool.
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Creative Director
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He would recognize Sorshen or she had done enough body sculpting through the years to be unrecognizable?I'm having trouble wrapping my head on the chronology of Ancient Thassilon. Were the Runelords who overthrew Xin the same ones who are still in stasis, or people whom the "current" Runelords (Karzoug, Krune, etc.) wrested power from later on?Of the runelords, Xanderghul and Sorshen are the only two who were never overthrown or replaced. They ruled their realms from the start to the end of Thassilon.
The other five runelords have had changes of rule. In some cases, only a few, but in ohters, dozens of runelords came and went druing Thassilon's time.
If Xin were alive to meet the 7 runelords in charge at the last days of Thassilon, he'd recognize Xanderghul and Sorshen, but not the rest.
Sorshen didn't do "body sculpting." So that's not an issue.
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Now a question for James: What do you think of Games Workshop pulling this nonsense: http://io9.com/5969092/games-workshop-gets-someones-book-yanked-from-amazon -for-using-the-term-space-marine
http://io9.com/5982201/games-workshop-is-still-claiming-to-own-the-trademar k-to-space-marine-time-to-get-pissed-off
To sum it up - they got an e-book pulled from Amazon simply by citing the use of "Space Marine" in the title as copyright infringement. The book had nothing to do with their Warhammer 40k game, they're basically just trying to take legal control of the term "Space Marine" regardless of context. The details are all in the links.
Copyright and intellectual property is complicated.
On one hand, I think that someone using the term "space marine" should realize that, in most circles where your writing will be read, folks will associate that with Games Workshop, and as such you should consider not using that term simply because I think it's better to build new things. Something like "star ranger" or whatever works just as well.
On the other hand, I think that when companies get TOO protective of their intellectual properties and start throwing around lawsuits, that can do more damage to your public persona than the dilution of a phrase or concept you've built up as your own. That also said... copyright and intellectual properties MUST be defended when they're infringed upon, because if they aren't, you can lose the claim to them.
Personally, if I were Games Workshop, I would have tried to negotiate a less public settlement or accord with the author of that book. Lawsuits and public griefing should be the last resort. Of course, this is the first I've heard of this... so maybe this IS their last resort.
So... my take is that I think the author should have known better, and GW should have been less antagonistic (unless, of course, this is only the first public appearance of a long-standing feud between the two parties and is a no-other-choice option by GW).
The term space marine was used used widely in in SF books for almost 50 years before Warhammer 40K. Suing someone for the use of that term is like suing someone for using the term robot.
If it was a miniature game using that term their lawsuit would have had a basis, but against a book? it has no basis.
The basic message is "we have more money than an indie author, so we get to bully him". For those that played at the time it has bad vibes reminiscent of TSR suing GDW for daring to publishing a fantasy game by Gary Gigax.
End result TSR settled outside of court, paying for the game rights but GDW closed.
Sorry, but it is something that still weight on my stomach.
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Contributor
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There obviously wasn't some sort of dino-killing cataclysm in Golarion, or at least if one happened, it wasn't a giant asteroid, I guess. Earthfall wasn't, clearly, a hit anywhere like the Yucatan's, though apparently (according to the link), that still wasn't enough to kill the dinosaurs. They're still around in Golarion...
How did mammals still become the dominant branch of larger (non-insect) life in Golarion?
Did the dino-gods get killed off (except Treerazer)? Are the dragons the dino-gods?
Were there sentient dino-people on Golarion (do the troglodytes, nagaji, serpentfolk or lizardfolk count)?
Inquiring minds want to know.
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Creative Director
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1) How did mammals still become the dominant branch of larger (non-insect) life in Golarion?
2) Did the dino-gods get killed off (except Treerazer)? Are the dragons the dino-gods?
3) Were there sentient dino-people on Golarion (do the troglodytes, nagaji, serpentfolk or lizardfolk count)?
1) We've been deliberately coy about what happened on Golarion that far back. Suffice to say, evolution AND intelligent design both exist in/on Golarion.
2) There aren't "dino-gods." Treerazer is a nascent demon lord, not a dinosaur. Dragons are not associated with dinosaurs.
3) Serpentfolk and xulgath (that being the racial name for troglodytes) and lizardfolk were certainly active in the pre-human era, as were lots of other things. There were no "dino-people" though.
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Contributor
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Hmm...
So I have a theory, which doesn't need to be confirmed or denied. The world came into being via physics.
Life evolved. Shoggoths escaped.
Dinosaurs and other prehistoric life came about. Scientific races like the Elder Things prospered.
At some later point, sentient life evolved, which could inherently manipulate magic or mythic-ness. Some of that life became gods, and some natural forces were imbued with sentient godhood. This happened after or simultaneous with the end of (in the case of the serpentfolk) these prehistoric species and scientific empires.
Am I mistaken in associating magic in its recognisable form with Azlant? If so, perhaps Azlant has something to do with establishing the mammalian hegemony - along with the human/humanoid one. Or perhaps there are forces further back...
*Gibbers* and devolves...
Dinofolk of course exist...They are called Tengu and Syrinx
Mr. James Jacobs,
Does the Osiriani countdown clock from "The Stone Packed Pyramid" have any relevance or mean anything?
James:
1) Can Improvised Weapons gain masterwork quality as a weapon? I am specifically asking about the tools used with Rough and Ready, or the specific items from Humble Beginnings. From here on out, I will call these weapons 'frying pan'
2) If yes, can said frying pan be enchanted with normal weapon enchants?
3) Does a white haired witch gain Weapon Proficiency, Natural Weapon (Hair)?
You automatically gain weapon proficiency for all the natural weapons of your race, but there is no mention of automatically gaining all natural weapon proficiencies for your class. The Druid class specifically calls out the fact that the class gains natural attack weapon proficiencies for the animal form it takes on. There is no such mention for the white haired witch.
Sorry about splitting hairs on the rules query.
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Yes... but for the purpose of the joke I was making I was willing to a) overlook that, or b) assume Rysky was greedy.Isn't that only if you're greedy?Good idea! Unless Karzoug's waking up, in which case a chunk of your soul will get siphoned off to his runewell when you die... so keep that in mind.
Hmm Sihedron tattoo. Good idea or bad idea?
I rather like giving gifts though.... which is on the same scale as greed so with the anniversary runelord rules with vices and virtue maybe itll still work *crosses fingers*
Ok....I feel a little foolish asking this question. But I have seen it mention here alot so I'll ask James,
What is the Dominion of the Black? And where are they explained?
"We use an enormous Excel file for creating stat blocks and new monsters, and make pretty aggressive use of styles in Microsoft Word to format the words for translation into layout."
1. And…is there any reason those nifty tools aren't made available? What sort of proprietary things do they have that we shouldn't?
2. If we can't use what you have, what monster creation tools do you recommend?
3. Besides other runelords and that oliphaunt, what beings could actually pose a challenge to a runelord?
4. Given Hastur's interest in decadence, has Sorshen had any dealings with him?
5. You said Sorshen traded with planar cities mostly. The only ones I can think of are Axis, Carcosa, the City of Brass, Dis, and the Opaline Vault. What others are there?
6. What was the ratio of giants to humans in Thassilon?
7. If Sorshen liked to change her clothes often then wouldn't that mean she'd often forgo whatever powers she got from her gown? Or did she only wear nonmagical clothes?
8. Why didn't Karzoug cast oodles of buffs before his fight with the PCs? Was he afraid of a mage's disjunction?
9. Did runelords sleep or did they stay awake all the time?
10. With very few exceptions, I've noticed that villains are the only ones who actually build anything whereas heroes are either breaking things or breaking into them. Why do you think that is?
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There is any project to do a magus themed prestige class?
While it isn't strictly needed to enjoy the class, I can see 2 different pats for a prestige class:
- a more martial themed magus prestige class that lose or reduce the number of spells that the magus receive in exchange for a fighter to hit and a faster fighter feats progression while keeping the arcana;
- a more wizardly themed prestige class with expanded spell powers at the expense of fighting prowess (a bit more difficult to do than the martial version).
The first version can be approximated entering the Eldritch Knight prestige class, but that class enhance the "wrong" part of the magus abilities, i.e. it increase his spellcasting abilities 9 levels out of then and do nothing for his arcane pool abilities or his arcana, my idea is more about renouncing most of the spells above 2nd level but retaining the growth in arcane pool, arcane pool abilities, and arcana.
Something like increasing in his spellcasting ability by 1 level every 2 levels in the prestige class, getting a fighter to hit and fighter training as soon as he enter the prestige class, while maintaining most of the magus non spell abilities.
The end result would have level 5 spells at character level 19.
It is a rough idea I had this morning so it need a lot of work, but what do you think of it? Its balance is reasonable?
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1) Can Improvised Weapons gain masterwork quality as a weapon? I am specifically asking about the tools used with Rough and Ready, or the specific items from Humble Beginnings. From here on out, I will call these weapons 'frying pan'
2) If yes, can said frying pan be enchanted with normal weapon enchants?
3) Does a white haired witch gain Weapon Proficiency, Natural Weapon (Hair)?
You automatically gain weapon proficiency for all the natural weapons of your race, but there is no mention of automatically gaining all natural weapon proficiencies for your class. The Druid class specifically calls out the fact that the class gains natural attack weapon proficiencies for the animal form it takes on. There is no such mention for the white haired witch.
Sorry about splitting hairs on the rules query.
1) No.
2) Ask your GM. I wouldn't allow it, on the grounds of it being too silly for my campaign style.
3) Yes.
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Creative Director
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Ok....I feel a little foolish asking this question. But I have seen it mention here alot so I'll ask James,
What is the Dominion of the Black? And where are they explained?
The Dominion of the Black is a mysterious non-human organization from the Dark Tapestry. They are NOT the Lovecraft gods and mythos; they're something else. We've said a little bit about them in Distant Worlds and here and there in adventures... we'll say a bit more about them in the upcoming adventure Doom Comes to Dustpawn, and it's looking like they'll have some stuff in Dragon's Demand as well.
But as to actually who they are... the time is not yet right to reveal that.
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Creative Director
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1. And…is there any reason those nifty tools aren't made available? What sort of proprietary things do they have that we shouldn't?
2. If we can't use what you have, what monster creation tools do you recommend?
3. Besides other runelords and that oliphaunt, what beings could actually pose a challenge to a runelord?
4. Given Hastur's interest in decadence, has Sorshen had any dealings with him?
5. You said Sorshen traded with planar cities mostly. The only ones I can think of are Axis, Carcosa, the City of Brass, Dis, and the Opaline Vault. What others are there?
6. What was the ratio of giants to humans in Thassilon?
7. If Sorshen liked to change her clothes often then wouldn't that mean she'd often forgo whatever powers she got from her gown? Or did she only wear nonmagical clothes?
8. Why didn't Karzoug cast oodles of buffs before his fight with the PCs? Was he afraid of a mage's disjunction?
9. Did runelords sleep or did they stay awake all the time?
10. With very few exceptions, I've noticed that villains are the only ones who actually build anything whereas heroes are either breaking things or breaking into them. Why do you think that is?
1) Because it's an excel spreadsheet built for in-house and freelancer use. Which means that it's not really user-friendly at all, and it was a lot of work to build that we're pretty protective of, and because we're not really in the business of publishing software at this point.
2) Hopefully some day Hero Lab will have robust monster creation rules. Until then... building new monsters by hand is my best answer.
3) Player Characters, for one. Demon lords and similarly powerful entities for another.
4) Yes... but that's all I'm gonna say about that for now.
5) Carcosa isn't a planar city; it's a city on another planet. One planar city that comes to mind is Yanaron, Lamashtu's capital city on Kurnugia.
6) Pretty low... there were more humans than giants, but I don't really know exact numbers off the top of my head.
7) I suspect her gown had a glamer type effect that allowed her to change its appearance. She also might have numerous magical outfits.
8) Partially because he's more of an agressive wizard who uses his spells offensively. Partially because the nature of transmutation spells means that each one of them tends to make you rewrite your stat block, and in the interest of keeping an already complicated encounter managable, I chose to not have him cast lots of buffing spells, and instead bolstered his defenses to a good and proper CR 21 level via other methods. He's already a really tough battle against the PCs; remember, he's not alone in the Eye of Avarice anymore!
9) They're human. They slept.
10) Because adventures tend to focus on the villains, because the hero roles are played by the PCs, and adventures don't spend much time talking about them.
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Creative Director
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There is any project to do a magus themed prestige class?
While it isn't strictly needed to enjoy the class, I can see 2 different pats for a prestige class:
- a more martial themed magus prestige class that lose or reduce the number of spells that the magus receive in exchange for a fighter to hit and a faster fighter feats progression while keeping the arcana;
- a more wizardly themed prestige class with expanded spell powers at the expense of fighting prowess (a bit more difficult to do than the martial version).The first version can be approximated entering the Eldritch Knight prestige class, but that class enhance the "wrong" part of the magus abilities, i.e. it increase his spellcasting abilities 9 levels out of then and do nothing for his arcane pool abilities or his arcana, my idea is more about renouncing most of the spells above 2nd level but retaining the growth in arcane pool, arcane pool abilities, and arcana.
Something like increasing in his spellcasting ability by 1 level every 2 levels in the prestige class, getting a fighter to hit and fighter training as soon as he enter the prestige class, while maintaining most of the magus non spell abilities.
The end result would have level 5 spells at character level 19.
It is a rough idea I had this morning so it need a lot of work, but what do you think of it? Its balance is reasonable?
Not really. Personally, I quite like prestige classes... but the design team is really down on them and doesn't really have plans to do many more of them. We did just do a big book of prestige classes for Golarion, and there's one or two in there that are pretty good choices for magi, but at this point there are no plans to build more magus-specific prestige classes.
I dont own halflings of golarion and cant recall any art that answers my question so here it is.
We all know halflings are the undisputed kings of mutton chops, but can they grow beards? If so, is it just a cultural thing that they dont? All art i've seen they are just spoting sideburns.
On an unrelatd topic, did you ever catch those two yahoos in that canoe youre chasing, and what did they taste like?
