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I plan on playing a Inquisitor of Calistria whenever I get around to Second Darkness... I don't see why it wouldn't fit perfectly well in that path.
Question Time!
Occasionally a player might want to ask their local potion maker or scroll maker to make them a more powerful version of a normal brew... say a potion of resist energy at 7th level or maybe 11th level.
Now how do you imagine something like the above being said "In character". It's of course easy enough for a person to say it metagaming wise, I'm just curious how you imagine people in Golarion asking their alchemist or wizard to make a potion or scroll at that strength considering points of damage and levels are intangibles. Oh, and what about spell levels? How do you imagine wizards talk about metamagicked spells?
Speaking of Inquisitors...
What would Inquisitors of Torag inquire about? How sound the foundation of your home was?
The interesting part is... what if her ideas about Nocticula are right?
Well, I know Mikaze would be very happy. I'd probably like it too.
Anyway. A good number of sorcerer bloodlines, a few domains, and I think some oracle mysteries give altered versions of certain spells, typically changing out elemental traits. Would you allow a sorcerer who did not have the bloodline in question to learn those spells, or a wizard to learn them and scribe them into his/her spellbook?
Also, what are your thoughts on sorcerers performing spell research to get original spells, learning spells from other class lists, or learning other variant spells instead of ones strictly from the wizard list?
Hi James, does a paladin (or an anti-paladin for that matter) have to follow a specific deity (or deity or demon lord in the case of an anti-paladin) or can they simply follow the cause of law and good (or chaos and evil in the case of an anti-paladin)? Thanks
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James,
I have a few questions if you don't mind.
1)On Earth, ravens appear in the mythology of many ancient people. Sometimes as tricksters, others as battle-heralds, knowledge seekers and even as a creator figure.
How would the people of Varísia (Maginimar more specifically) see them?
Are there any deities/demigods associated with them?2)would it be possible for a witch to have two entities acting as a patron (e.g. rival entities competing for influence over her)?
1) In Varisia, ravens aren't all that associated with much mythology. In some places, folks might see them as bad luck or evil, especially in areas where the influence of Pazuzu is stronger. In others, folks might see them as good luck or "guides" while traveling the road, especially among some Shoanti clans. Ravens certainly have a supernatural element in Irrisen, where they're respected as witch familiars (whereas crows are hated there). But I'm pretty sure none of the core 20 deities are really super-associated with ravens.
2) Story-wise? Yes. Rules-wise? No. We haven't, to my knowledge, given witches an option to have 2 patrons.
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What is the closest real earth (or earth mythology) equivalent to Iobaria?Probably Russia.I see Brevoy as western Russia, something like the principality of Kiev before the Mongols, or maybe after, seeing how they were ruled by an eastern (Iobarian) dynasty for 200 years.
Iobaria is more complicated. It has some of the feeling of the area around the Caspian Sea, but its main problem seem to be the recurrent pestilences, more than a problem with nomad invaders.
The once great cities reduced to shadows of their former self remember the Muslim cities in the wake of the Golden Horde.It is a acceptable vision of the region, James?
You are still playing the campaign there? How it is going?
something I still pilfer to enrich the eastern territory in a Kingmaker campaign?
There's certainly more to Brevoy and Iobaria than "Russia." Both have some Russian elements, but both have other elements as well. I wouldn't say there's a strong Muslim influence in Iobaria, but certainly the further south you go, the stronger that element becomes.
The Kingmaker campaign Rob was running set in Iobaria collapsed over a year ago. He replaced it with a Skull & Shackles campaign that's still going strong.
Hi James, on your exchange regarding Nocticula and Ayavah, I've always been intrigued by the relationship between Nocticula and her "brother" Socothbenoth - would it be too far to assume that actually they are one and the same being? It would explain the whole Mharah incident and how she has managed to become so powerful and kill so many other demon lords - is this killing of demon lords all part of her seeking redemption. Also given the strong redemption themes in the Wrath of the Righteous adventure path coming in August and the fact that one part of that AP is set in the Midnight Isles, is it possible that Ayavah is about to be proved right? Or have I run far to far ahead of myself?
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Yes.That's an oddly specific answer compared to your usual ballpark figure for most Mythic CR-related questions. Any reason for that?5) 29.
5. What's Hastur's CR?Would it be that he might have been statted already for an upcoming publication?
As some follow-on Mythic/Thassilon questions:
1) Were Xanderghul and Sorshen already into Mythic levels by the time Xin made them Runelords?
2) While we know of the Runelords who were ruling at the time of Earthfall and general power brackets for them, were there any other particularly famous ones who reached Mythic levels and may have been a challenge to Sorshen/Xanderghul?
2a) As in, it's usually given that Xanderghul and Sorshen were the first and second most powerful, respectively, but were there times over Thassilon's history when that wasn't true?
3) Would Karzoug have been terrified or at least very, very cautious if at the end of Rise of the Runelords, the PCs came at him with a reconstructed Sihedron on their side? How would it alter his tactics/strategies?
4) Could Xanderghul or Sorshen take Hastur (at CR 29) in a fight? What odds for success would you give them?
Hastur has not yet been statted for an upcoming publication.
1) Unknown.
2) Yes, but they were defeated before we came to the 7 that ended up in charge when Thassilon ended. And, no, I'm not ready to reveal more information about them yet.
2a) Perhaps. When I say they're the two most powerful, I mean that's how it stood at the end of Thassilon and how it's stood ever since.
3) Very very cautious and curious, but not terrified, since it would be very difficult for the PCs to hide that fact from him and he'd have plenty of time to prepare for it.
4) Dunno, since I'm not exactly sure what CR Xanderghul or Sorshen are yet.
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Is there a possibility of seeing another NPC Codex in the future, that presents examples of the classes introduced in the Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Combat, and Ultimate Magic? If so, might it also include examples beyond the core seven races, as well?
Will the five PC-suitable monsters from the Inner Sea Bestiary recieve any additional support or exploration?
There's absolutely a possibility of another NPC Codex in the future. If there were, it'd very likely incorporate stuff from beyond the Core Rulebook or the core races.
Not in the context of the Inner Sea Region or Tian Xia. Probably not in the context of Golarion as a whole. But they might get more info in the rulebook line some day.
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When using the PM system I accidentally blocked a fellow named DM Heterocephales. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to unblock him. Adding him to the address book gives nothing and I still cannot PM him.
Help?
Dunno how to help you; that sounds like a good question for Customer Service.
1) In Varisia, ravens aren't all that associated with much mythology. In some places, folks might see them as bad luck or evil, especially in areas where the influence of Pazuzu is stronger. In others, folks might see them as good luck or "guides" while traveling the road, especially among some Shoanti clans. Ravens certainly have a supernatural element in Irrisen, where they're respected as witch familiars (whereas crows are hated there). But I'm pretty sure none of the core 20 deities are really super-associated with ravens.
Just to add a bit to what James said, ravens play a part in Norse mythology and that might fit rather well with local beliefs and superstition in the Linnorm Kingdoms. Just a thought. :)
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It is. And the interesting part isn't really about her.The interesting part is... what if her ideas about Nocticula are right?
And no, her gender is in large part irrelevant. I was using that to see if anyone was paying attention, and you were!
Yes! I figured it out. Requesting permission to pat self on back...
Though you say her gender is "largely" irrelevant, does that mean it does have some relevance? I figure you wouldn't make that kind of gender distinction without it being for some special reason, intersex conditions like this are extremely rare after all.
On another note. How would you rate the power level of Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, to that of the runelords? Particularly in regards to Sorshen and Xanderghul. I imagine he is extremely powerful since he managed to kill a god.
Any chance of seeing Tar-Baphon statted up when the mythic rules arrive? Any chance that we will see an AP where he actually breaks free from the Gallowspire?
Finally, are there any plans of doing a book about the most powerful characters of the Pathfinder CS based off of the mythic rules? I seem to recall you saying you were interested in doing one. I would love to see details for Nex, Geb and the other high level VIP's of the setting.
Of course it has some relevance. It's a part of her character (I use the feminine pronoun for her since she mostly identifies herself as female), and as such it would be relevant to her character as much as is the fact that other NPCs have certain features or qualities. But the fact that she's a hermaphrodite would not be the whole point or driving plot of something involving her.
Tar-Baphon is of equal power level to the most powerful runelords. Not sure if he's higher CR than Xanderghul or Sorshen or lower, but he's close. An adventure where he gets loose would make a very interesting mythic Adventure Path. We'll wait and see how folks like Wrath of the Righteous before I'm willing to say much more about the possibilities of doing further mythic Adventure Paths though.
And I'm not sure what god you're talking about him killing. Arazni? She was more a demigod, and probably not much more than CR 21 or 22 when he took her out... IF that. You can, technically, even be a demigod below CR 20. Mythic Adventures will have more to say on that topic.
Now that we've got Mythic Adventures coming, the rules to stat up characters like Nex, Geb, Tar-Baphon, Sorshen, etc. exist. I would love to stat them up. Whether or not we do a book with those stats... I can't yet say.
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A) The Pathfinder Open Game Content site has a 'new and improved' Racial layout that appeals to my players. They particularly like the 'grouping' of racial traits into Offensive, Senses, etc.
1) does PF plan to incorporate that system into PF?
2) do you know anything about the layout beyond what can be gleaned by a simple glance over the entries?
B) As a special subscriber bonus/download, could a simple 'combat options' cheat card be generated? I have several players that just go numb when it comes their turn: "Uh, what things can I do?" I would leave out any complicated things, but note that there are more options out there. This is mainly a problem with new players and those who last played in the previous millennium.
1) I'm not sure what site you're talking about, so I can't say. If it's a fan site, then probably not.
2) Again... not sure what site you're talking about.
B) We published the Buff deck which could help. And we're looking at options and possibilities to create more game play aids in the future. In the meantime... it might be a good idea not to wait and build something like that for your players.
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Can a draconic bloodline sorcerer choose to be descended of a primal dragon or imperial dragon? If so, what would he get if he chose, for instance, umbral dragon? Would his claws deal negative energy damage? And what would he gain resistances too? Would that also mean that a forest imperial dragon-descendant would gain resistance against piercing?
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Is Hastur more reptilian*, cephalapodic**, tattered, masked, and hobo like***, or an invisible psychic force****, to your imagination?
*Deities and Demigods
**Derlethian
***Chamberian
****Detwillerian
Depends what source you look at.
So far, all we've said about Hastur in our game is in Pathfinder #46, which ties him to the King in Yellow but plays coy with his actual appearance. Stay tuned.
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Why not "all of the above?"
Because "all of the above" is the same as "anything; doesn't matter." At which point "Hastur" essentially just becomes a synonym for "chaos" or "entropy." I'm not a fan of that. Hastur has a name. That means he has a shape and a true form.
Doesn't mean I have to decide what it is though. At least... not yet!
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Occasionally a player might want to ask their local potion maker or scroll maker to make them a more powerful version of a normal brew... say a potion of resist energy at 7th level or maybe 11th level.
Now how do you imagine something like the above being said "In character". It's of course easy enough for a person to say it metagaming wise, I'm just curious how you imagine people in Golarion asking their alchemist or wizard to make a potion or scroll at that strength considering points of damage and levels are intangibles. Oh, and what about spell levels? How do you imagine wizards talk about metamagicked spells?
In character, I'd say "Make me an unusually powerful potion. As strong as you can make it!" or something like that. Or perhaps "I need a potion that has effects that last at least 4 minutes longer than normal."
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Anyway. A good number of sorcerer bloodlines, a few domains, and I think some oracle mysteries give altered versions of certain spells, typically changing out elemental traits. Would you allow a sorcerer who did not have the bloodline in question to learn those spells, or a wizard to learn them and scribe them into his/her spellbook?
Also, what are your thoughts on sorcerers performing spell research to get original spells, learning spells from other class lists, or learning other variant spells instead of ones strictly from the wizard list?
I probably would not, since that would dilute and cheapen the actual bloodline. Kind of like how giving sneak attack to a ranger dilutes and cheapens the rogue class.
Sorcerers absolutely should be able to do spell research to get new spells. ANY spellcasting class should be able to do that. They wouldn't be able to cast it until they devoted a spells known slot to that spell though, so they'd either have to wait until they leveled up or would have to retrain that known spell (see Ultimate Campaign).
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Hi James, does a paladin (or an anti-paladin for that matter) have to follow a specific deity (or deity or demon lord in the case of an anti-paladin) or can they simply follow the cause of law and good (or chaos and evil in the case of an anti-paladin)? Thanks
Nope.
Only clerics HAVE to have a deity.
I'd say that probably 95% or more of paladins and anti-paladins DO have deities though. As far as PCs are concerned, it's player's preference, of course, but the vast majority of paladin and antipaladin NPCs on Golarion have deities because that's more interesting to me, the Creative Director of Golarion.
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Can a draconic bloodline sorcerer choose to be descended of a primal dragon or imperial dragon? If so, what would he get if he chose, for instance, umbral dragon? Would his claws deal negative energy damage? And what would he gain resistances too? Would that also mean that a forest imperial dragon-descendant would gain resistance against piercing?
Yes, but at this point that means the GM would have to ad-hoc or house rule things. We may some day expand those rules to account for new true dragon types, but haven't done so yet.
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Hi James, on your exchange regarding Nocticula and Ayavah, I've always been intrigued by the relationship between Nocticula and her "brother" Socothbenoth - would it be too far to assume that actually they are one and the same being? It would explain the whole Mharah incident and how she has managed to become so powerful and kill so many other demon lords - is this killing of demon lords all part of her seeking redemption. Also given the strong redemption themes in the Wrath of the Righteous adventure path coming in August and the fact that one part of that AP is set in the Midnight Isles, is it possible that Ayavah is about to be proved right? Or have I run far to far ahead of myself?
Nocticula and Socothbenoth are very much two different creatures; they are not the same being.
There may well be some small element of Ayavah's heresy or, at the very least, her succubus statuettes, in Wrath of the Righteous.
Are the burrow rules in Pathfinder the same as those in 3.5? And can an Earth Elemental choose to burrow *without* using Earth Glide?
Calistria considers the drow to be weak. They're not able to resist the corrupting influence of demonic energies and are an example of what can happen if you don't have a strong enough sense of self to remain true to yourself. She's not likely to be a big fan of any drow who decide to worship her, and her church is pretty much the same way.
Why would she not be a big fan of a drow who whorshipped her instead? From what I read her faiths accepts almost everything...so what would her problem be with drow whorshippers?
Or is this more of "Thou shalt not have non-evil drow" stuff from Pazio?
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James, I like many of your top ten horror writers. My top ten would be very similar, with one exception, at the number two spot right below Lovecraft...
Have you ever read any stories by Thomas Ligotti? In my opinion, he's the greatest heir to Lovecraft's style of cosmic horror, and a master of short story form. Some good collections are Teatro Grottesco, Grimscribe, His Lives and Works, and Songs of a Dead Dreamer.
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Calistria considers the drow to be weak. They're not able to resist the corrupting influence of demonic energies and are an example of what can happen if you don't have a strong enough sense of self to remain true to yourself. She's not likely to be a big fan of any drow who decide to worship her, and her church is pretty much the same way.Why would she not be a big fan of a drow who whorshipped her instead? From what I read her faiths accepts almost everything...so what would her problem be with drow whorshippers?
Or is this more of "Thou shalt not have non-evil drow" stuff from Pazio?
JJ explains that here.Calistria considers the drow to be weak. They're not able to resist the corrupting influence of demonic energies and are an example of what can happen if you don't have a strong enough sense of self to remain true to yourself. She's not likely to be a big fan of any drow who decide to worship her, and her church is pretty much the same way.Why would she not be a big fan of a drow who whorshipped her instead? From what I read her faiths accepts almost everything...so what would her problem be with drow whorshippers?
Or is this more of "Thou shalt not have non-evil drow" stuff from Pazio?
Nope that does not answear the question. It raised my question. It would be like saying she does not accept Cheliax whorshippers because they succumbed to the currupting engeries of devils.
Mr. James Jacobs,
Do the Pathfinder comics count as a separate continuity from Golarion canon?
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Are the burrow rules in Pathfinder the same as those in 3.5? And can an Earth Elemental choose to burrow *without* using Earth Glide?
Yes.
Burrow got kind of shorted in Pathfinder as a bit of an oversight.
A creature without earth glide doesn't get to choose; if it doesn't use earth glide, it can't burrow. Unless the GM rules otherwise.
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Calistria considers the drow to be weak. They're not able to resist the corrupting influence of demonic energies and are an example of what can happen if you don't have a strong enough sense of self to remain true to yourself. She's not likely to be a big fan of any drow who decide to worship her, and her church is pretty much the same way.Why would she not be a big fan of a drow who whorshipped her instead? From what I read her faiths accepts almost everything...so what would her problem be with drow whorshippers?
Or is this more of "Thou shalt not have non-evil drow" stuff from Pazio?
Her faith does accept almost everything... the key there is the word "almost."
It is also a bit of "Drow in Golarion are evil and worship demons" as well.
All that said, PCs break rules all the time.
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James, I like many of your top ten horror writers. My top ten would be very similar, with one exception, at the number two spot right below Lovecraft...
Have you ever read any stories by Thomas Ligotti? In my opinion, he's the greatest heir to Lovecraft's style of cosmic horror, and a master of short story form. Some good collections are Teatro Grottesco, Grimscribe, His Lives and Works, and Songs of a Dead Dreamer.
Thomas Ligotti is probably at my number 11 position. He's VERY good.
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Mr. James Jacobs,
Do the Pathfinder comics count as a separate continuity from Golarion canon?
Nope; they're part of Golarion canon. When the events occur is not set in stone, but the events themselves are canon. It's pretty much the only place where we're going to be telling the iconics' stories.
Are the comics going to be the place where which character is transexual will be revealed?
Will there ever be a book "people from the south" and stuff south of the shackles? And more Tian stuff?
Her faith does accept almost everything... the key there is the word "almost."
It is also a bit of "Drow in Golarion are evil and worship demons" as well.
All that said, PCs break rules all the time.
I was kinda looking for a in-game reason as to why. Not fan boy back lash(or is that anti fan boy backlash).
Like Calistria is still spiteful about them turning their backs on her to whorship some demons.
Anyway....on another subject.
How you ever read the horror writter Robert McCammon? If so what did you think of him?
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I didn't know about the blog, but it's an EXCELLENT idea for a blog!Are you aware of the Daily Bestiary? A Blog from a guy calling himself Patch.
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If you already knew, what is your opinion about his blog?
Um, hi. That's me. (And thanks for the kind words, Sincubus!)
I actually recommend the less-clunky Tumblr version. (The original Blogger site is difficult to edit well, so I've had to basically throw up my hands and learn to live in permanent typo shame over there.)
And James, I'd be thrilled if you found the time to browse. Three adventure seeds for every monster. And this Monday your Nightripper was actually the very first Inner Sea Bestiary monster to make it into the roster. If you're curious, it's right here.
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Out of curiosity, just as there are non-human-born aasimar and tieflings, are there non-human born genieborn, or for that matter, dhampir? And as a corollary to that, if I had a ratfolk or kobold or goblin aasimar, per se, would their lifespans still be 40ish years, or would it go up to human-length? For that matter, would a ratfolk dhampir (assuming such a thing is possible) have a centuries-spanning lifespan like a human-produced dhampir does?
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Her faith does accept almost everything... the key there is the word "almost."
It is also a bit of "Drow in Golarion are evil and worship demons" as well.
All that said, PCs break rules all the time.
I was kinda looking for a in-game reason as to why. Not fan boy back lash(or is that anti fan boy backlash).
Like Calistria is still spiteful about them turning their backs on her to whorship some demons.
Anyway....on another subject.
How you ever read the horror writter Robert McCammon? If so what did you think of him?
For Calistria, it's mostly the fact that a LOT of drow turned their back on her to worship demons. She doesn't like that. She's a vengeful deity, after all.
I have indeed heard of Robert McCammon and have read some of his stuff. "Swan Song" in particular was pretty good, and I liked "Stinger" as well.
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And James, I'd be thrilled if you found the time to browse. Three adventure seeds for every monster. And this Monday your Nightripper was actually the very first Inner Sea Bestiary monster to make it into the roster. If you're curious, it's right here.
And yup; Nightripper was at the top of the page when I checked the site. Made me cackle with glee to see that folks are enjoying playing around with a demon lord I made up about 27 years ago! :-)
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Out of curiosity, just as there are non-human-born aasimar and tieflings, are there non-human born genieborn, or for that matter, dhampir? And as a corollary to that, if I had a ratfolk or kobold or goblin aasimar, per se, would their lifespans still be 40ish years, or would it go up to human-length? For that matter, would a ratfolk dhampir (assuming such a thing is possible) have a centuries-spanning lifespan like a human-produced dhampir does?
There could well be non-human born jaani or dhampir.
Once you're playing an aasimar, your aging rate should switch to aasimar aging rates regardless of the non celestial heritage.
AKA: It doesn't matter much how you got to whatever race you are... the race you are decides how long you live. There's certainly room in there to house rule things and get all sorts of variants, but that's not something I really care to go all that deep into. I'd rather keep it simple.
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Oh Benevolent Saurian King, I was kicking around Kickstarter the other day, hehe kicking around, and found this awesome project. And thought I'd share it with you. I do hope you enjoy!
As for a question, how excited are you for the remake of Evil Dead?
4. Are different goblinoid types genetically compatible with each other?
5. If so, what would the offspring of a goblin and hobgoblin be like? Physically and behaviourally?
6. I read somewhere that if a player wants a squirrel familiar (a non-flying one) they should use the statistics of a rat. I'm unfortunately not sure where exactly. But unless i remember completely wrong my question is this: Don't you think monkey statistics fit much better?
4) Compatible as in can they interbreed? Yes. Compatible as in would they get along if put in a room together? Probably.
5) Goblins and hobgoblins can't mate. If they could, I'd say that there's an equal chance of the child basically being a slightly taller goblin or a slightly shorter hobgoblin.
6) No. Squirrels are VERY close to rats. They're not close to monkeys at all.
4/5) First you say, yes they can interbreed but then you say they can't mate? Idon't follow.
6) I Came up with the monkey thing, because i was comparing the ruless of the two, and really they're not that different, aside form a few slight variations in Attributes a lack of the Scent ability in the monkey and the fact that the monkey is a little faster on the ground and while climbing, but doesn't have a swim speed. The latter seems much more suitable for a squirrel (I for one never heard of squirrels being swimmers).