James,
What's with the Bear hate?
I notice the recent inclusion of the Panda bear, and thats lovely.
What I notice was absent was the option for a size LARGE bear companion, and I am wondering when this might be rectified.
Whilst I know that having large Wolves is 'iconic', I find it strange that there is no similar capacity to have a bear do the same.
Is there a Paizo staffer so upset by the axing of Grizzly Adams in the wayback that they are having a protest? Is this discrimination based on an ice hockey conspiracy?
When are we going to see the inclusion of a LARGE bear? A Kodiak or a Polar bear?
I mean, I understand your bias for Cats and Dinosaurs (only AC's with a CHA stat over 10 are 4 dinosaurs - are they the ones from Land before time? That Celestial template that Aasimars can give their 6CHA pet really helps with the Smite Evil) but come on this has been going on for years now...
FREE THE LARGE BEARS!
Your Honey Pots will be safe.
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If the Neh-thalggu do get a big boost related to the Dominion of the Black, will they look like the version shown in the Bestiary or do you see them having a different look?Why would they need a "boost" or appearance change at all?
I meant boost as in spotlight time or a push as far as having a definite place in the Pathfinderverse, as well as more exploration of what they're about. As for appearance, ha, I just realized the appearance I was remembering and hoping got a makeover is actually another company's take on that creature(it didn't look like anything "brain collector"-y in particular, while the Pathfinder version does).
So that's an "oops, never mind!" on the appearance part. ;)
Ok this might be a weird question. Heck it might not be one anybody at Pazio have given serious thought to.
In Golarion do animals have souls?
I might have follow up questions depending on the answear.
All living creatures have souls in Pathfinder.
For outsiders, the soul is inexorably entwined with the body and the two are the same thing (except for native outsiders, which have normal souls).
Souls from sentient creatures (aka creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or higher) are much more valuable to those who traffic in souls.
Ok...how does Pharasma judge them? Or do they automaticaly because they can't be anything other that a 'good' wolf...or whatever?
Can you bring a animal back to life? If so is there a chance they will refuse it?
Can you reincarnate a animal? What happens if it comes back as say a human?
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What does the title of "sultana" really mean in Qadira(and possibly Katapesh)?
Is it strictly a royal title? Or is it a title of authority that can be earned, won, or even bought?
How many sultanas are there likely to be in Qadira(and anywhere else that uses the title)? That is, are they as rare as those titled as kings or queens or more common?
Creative Director
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James,
What's with the Bear hate?
I notice the recent inclusion of the Panda bear, and thats lovely.
What I notice was absent was the option for a size LARGE bear companion, and I am wondering when this might be rectified.
Whilst I know that having large Wolves is 'iconic', I find it strange that there is no similar capacity to have a bear do the same.
Is there a Paizo staffer so upset by the axing of Grizzly Adams in the wayback that they are having a protest? Is this discrimination based on an ice hockey conspiracy?
When are we going to see the inclusion of a LARGE bear? A Kodiak or a Polar bear?
I mean, I understand your bias for Cats and Dinosaurs (only AC's with a CHA stat over 10 are 4 dinosaurs - are they the ones from Land before time? That Celestial template that Aasimars can give their 6CHA pet really helps with the Smite Evil) but come on this has been going on for years now...
FREE THE LARGE BEARS!
Your Honey Pots will be safe.
I honestly don't know why Jason made bear companions so limited in size. Maybe because of damage considerations? Dunno. He's the one who built those rules, so he'd be the one to reveal if it was intentional (and why) or if it was an oversight.
I assume you're talking about animal companion bears, at least, because the Bestiary's had a large bear in it from the start. TWO Large bears, in fact.
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Creative Director
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If the Neh-thalggu do get a big boost related to the Dominion of the Black, will they look like the version shown in the Bestiary or do you see them having a different look?Why would they need a "boost" or appearance change at all?I meant boost as in spotlight time or a push as far as having a definite place in the Pathfinderverse, as well as more exploration of what they're about. As for appearance, ha, I just realized the appearance I was remembering and hoping got a makeover is actually another company's take on that creature(it didn't look like anything "brain collector"-y in particular, while the Pathfinder version does).
So that's an "oops, never mind!" on the appearance part. ;)
Neh-thalggus have been one of my favorite monsters in the game for many many years before they were even called neh-thalggus. They were first introduced back in X2: Castle Amber for the Expert Set as brain collectors. They're pretty much in Bestiary 2 because of me, in fact.
So, yes... the plan is to have a fair bit more information about the neh-thalggus at some point in the future. That has ALWAYS been the plan, in fact, but now things are close. Very close. The stars are almost right.
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Creative Director
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Ok this might be a weird question. Heck it might not be one anybody at Pazio have given serious thought to.
In Golarion do animals have souls?
I might have follow up questions depending on the answear.
All living creatures have souls in Pathfinder.
For outsiders, the soul is inexorably entwined with the body and the two are the same thing (except for native outsiders, which have normal souls).
Souls from sentient creatures (aka creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or higher) are much more valuable to those who traffic in souls.
Ok...how does Pharasma judge them? Or do they automaticaly because they can't be anything other that a 'good' wolf...or whatever?
Can you bring a animal back to life? If so is there a chance they will refuse it?
Can you reincarnate a animal? What happens if it comes back as say a human?
Animals pretty much go automaticly on to the afterlife, since they lack sentience and thus lack the ability to make ethical and moral choices.
Animals can be brought back to life like any other creature, and it's unlikely to be smart enough to be able to make the choice to refuse it.
You can reincarnate them too; if they come back as a human, they're still animals and thus act like feral humans and are probably really freaked out.
Haven Moment for a Reincarnated Animal to Human?
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Creative Director
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What does the title of "sultana" really mean in Qadira(and possibly Katapesh)?
Is it strictly a royal title? Or is it a title of authority that can be earned, won, or even bought?
How many sultanas are there likely to be in Qadira(and anywhere else that uses the title)? That is, are they as rare as those titled as kings or queens or more common?
Unknown; it's certainly a title of authority of some sort, but we've not done much with that stuff yet that I know of...
You can reincarnate them too; if they come back as a human, they're still animals and thus act like feral humans and are probably really freaked out.
Sorry if if this is too metaphysical...
Would a animal reincarnated as a human eventualy developes sentience?
What would you think of a character concept of a animal reincarnated into human form? Is that too strange for you to accept?
A Wolf Reincarnated as a Wolf Shaman Druid or Shapechanger Ranger.
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In Tian Xie, are there any cases of animals/non-humans being able to turn into humans via years of "cultivating power"? (Not-including races that have human forms by default, like Kitsune.)
Aka, something like Madam White Snake?
Cos animals/beings that can change into humans seems to be quite a common theme in Chinese stories. Just wondering if this theme is common in the Tian Xie setting.
Does such being even exist in the setting?
I assume you're talking about animal companion bears, at least, because the Bestiary's had a large bear in it from the start. TWO Large bears, in fact.
Exactly right on both counts.
There are LARGE BEARS you can encounter in the Bestiary, but you can't have one as a Companion.
On the flip side there is NO LARGE WOLF, but yeah you can have a Large one as a companion.
Is there an 'Ask Jason' thread? Where is he keeping all the big bears? Did he get bitten by Yogi Bear at a Hanna Barbera theme park? he got scared in Brother Bear? He got mad jelly at the leisurely lifestyle of Baloo in The Jungle Book and went on a crusade?
Dire Wolf is a Large Wolf.
But you cant have a Dire Wolf AC. Nor a 'Worg'. Nor a Winter Wolf.
Its more than sensible folk can bear.
But a Dire Wolf is nothing but a large breed of wolf. So you are transforming your Wolf into a Dire Wolf.
Says wolf on the packet :)
Dire Wolf is in another section, not under the Wolf header.
A large breed of wolf is the Worg, also under its own statblock and has its own name.
We have the right to bear arms, just they have to be little ones apparently.
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I assume you're talking about animal companion bears, at least, because the Bestiary's had a large bear in it from the start. TWO Large bears, in fact.Exactly right on both counts.
There are LARGE BEARS you can encounter in the Bestiary, but you can't have one as a Companion.
On the flip side there is NO LARGE WOLF, but yeah you can have a Large one as a companion.
Is there an 'Ask Jason' thread? Where is he keeping all the big bears? Did he get bitten by Yogi Bear at a Hanna Barbera theme park? he got scared in Brother Bear? He got mad jelly at the leisurely lifestyle of Baloo in The Jungle Book and went on a crusade?
That Bear is naked. NSFW!
ZOMG a bare bear!?
In Tian Xie, are there any cases of animals/non-humans being able to turn into humans via years of "cultivating power"? (Not-including races that have human forms by default, like Kitsune.)
Aka, something like Madam White Snake?
Cos animals/beings that can change into humans seems to be quite a common theme in Chinese stories. Just wondering if this theme is common in the Tian Xie setting.
Does such being even exist in the setting?
No she sings 'Here I go again' instead.
Do all ADVENTURE PATH monsters that aren't in Bestiaries yet (Ukobach, Carrionstorm, Raiju, Rokurokubi, Skrik Nettle, Faceless Whale to name a few examples) make a chance of appearing in new AP's as enemies or do you only use/take monsters that made it into one of the 3 bestiaries for adventure path enemies/encounters?
Does the Vouivre (from one of the ap's) ever makes a chance of appearing in a pathfinder product again? Or was the Ap bestiary her last appearance ever?
A Wyvern under the French name?
Can you reincarnate a animal? What happens if it comes back as say a human?Animals can be brought back to life like any other creature, and it's unlikely to be smart enough to be able to make the choice to refuse it.
You can reincarnate them too; if they come back as a human, they're still animals and thus act like feral humans and are probably really freaked out.
How is an animal reincarnated as a humanoid? Reincarnation re-incarnates the soul into a body of a creature of the same type.
Anything that would let reincarnation change the creature type would seem to indeed change the creature type...?
Please whenever the Vouivre is used again (the half dragon half female) don't call her after the French wyvern anymore but name her Campe/Kampe or Drakaina because many people don't understand the french wyvern name = used for the pathfinder version of the Castlevania version of a Amphisbaena/Diplocephalus thingy. :-P
Ah I see. I haven't looked at that AP's Bestiary before... I figured it was just a unique/variant Wyvern.
Bard.
And what's your favourite class ?
Hi James, during my years of playing 3.5 i never wanted to play a Bard. Our group is currently on book 5 of our 4th AP, and i still haven't played a Bard. However, we took a break for an absent player recently, and the remaining players ran through The Harrowing. I played a Bard and i loved what Pathfinder has done for them. I did the whole module without doing a single HP of damage, mainly using Charm, Diplomacy, and buffing/debuffing.
So my question is, when you were designing Pathfinder, were there any changes to the classes you really wanted that didn't make it through?
I search the messageboards frequently so that I can glean more information about Numeria and what kinds of things are going on there. Is there an AP, module, or player companion in the works that will show us what Numeria has to offer?
If so, when do you think it will be available for eager gamers like me?
No such AP or module or player companion is available at this point, nor have we announced anything of that nature for 2013.
But.
Stay tuned.
At PaizoCon or Gen Con? Cuz I will be in the room at Gen Con.
Says wolf on the packet :)
Dire Wolf is in another section, not under the Wolf header.
A large breed of wolf is the Worg, also under its own statblock and has its own name.
We have the right to bear arms, just they have to be little ones apparently.
Worgs aren't that big, and they are also intelligent. I don't think they qualify.
Hi, James.
I have a Rise of the Runelords question for you, about a change between the original and the Anniversary Edition...
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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What were the definitive events the began/ended each of the Ages on Golarion?
Age of Lost Omens is Aroden's death.
Age of Enthronement was the rise of Absalom.
Earthfall obviously begat the Age of Darkness.
Ydersius being beheaded sounds like a good close for the Age of Serpents and the beginning of the Age of Legends.
What of the rest?
Do other continents have differing Ages? Obviously Tian Xia had the Age of Dragons.
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Creative Director
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You can reincarnate them too; if they come back as a human, they're still animals and thus act like feral humans and are probably really freaked out.Sorry if if this is too metaphysical...
Would a animal reincarnated as a human eventualy developes sentience?
What would you think of a character concept of a animal reincarnated into human form? Is that too strange for you to accept?
Only if it leveled up and increased its Intelligence score.
It's probably too strange for a PC, but it's cool for an NPC.
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Creative Director
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In Tian Xie, are there any cases of animals/non-humans being able to turn into humans via years of "cultivating power"? (Not-including races that have human forms by default, like Kitsune.)
Aka, something like Madam White Snake?
Cos animals/beings that can change into humans seems to be quite a common theme in Chinese stories. Just wondering if this theme is common in the Tian Xie setting.
Does such being even exist in the setting?
Yes. One example are the Jorogumos; they're spiders who live long enough to become monsters. There are certainly more examples out there, but they're not common.
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Creative Director
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I assume you're talking about animal companion bears, at least, because the Bestiary's had a large bear in it from the start. TWO Large bears, in fact.Exactly right on both counts.
There are LARGE BEARS you can encounter in the Bestiary, but you can't have one as a Companion.
On the flip side there is NO LARGE WOLF, but yeah you can have a Large one as a companion.
Is there an 'Ask Jason' thread? Where is he keeping all the big bears? Did he get bitten by Yogi Bear at a Hanna Barbera theme park? he got scared in Brother Bear? He got mad jelly at the leisurely lifestyle of Baloo in The Jungle Book and went on a crusade?
There is no ask Jason thread.
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Creative Director
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Do all ADVENTURE PATH monsters that aren't in Bestiaries yet (Ukobach, Carrionstorm, Raiju, Rokurokubi, Skrik Nettle, Faceless Whale to name a few examples) make a chance of appearing in new AP's as enemies or do you only use/take monsters that made it into one of the 3 bestiaries for adventure path enemies/encounters?
Does the Vouivre (from one of the ap's) ever makes a chance of appearing in a pathfinder product again? Or was the Ap bestiary her last appearance ever?
Some of them might show up in the future, some might not. It depends on the nature of the monster or the nature of the adventure.
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Creative Director
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Can you reincarnate a animal? What happens if it comes back as say a human?Animals can be brought back to life like any other creature, and it's unlikely to be smart enough to be able to make the choice to refuse it.
You can reincarnate them too; if they come back as a human, they're still animals and thus act like feral humans and are probably really freaked out.How is an animal reincarnated as a humanoid? Reincarnation re-incarnates the soul into a body of a creature of the same type.
Anything that would let reincarnation change the creature type would seem to indeed change the creature type...?
The reincarnate spell does that... but there are other ways to get reincarnated.
It is, though, very very very rare to jump types when you reincarnate.
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Creative Director
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Please whenever the Vouivre is used again (the half dragon half female) don't call her after the French wyvern anymore but name her Campe/Kampe or Drakaina because many people don't understand the french wyvern name = used for the pathfinder version of the Castlevania version of a Amphisbaena/Diplocephalus thingy. :-P
Not really an option I'm interested in...
Our philosophy is that different monsters can exist, and since we make SO many monsters up, we'd rather use real word monster names for things than make things up. The game's done this forever.
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Creative Director
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Bard.
And what's your favourite class ?
Hi James, during my years of playing 3.5 i never wanted to play a Bard. Our group is currently on book 5 of our 4th AP, and i still haven't played a Bard. However, we took a break for an absent player recently, and the remaining players ran through The Harrowing. I played a Bard and i loved what Pathfinder has done for them. I did the whole module without doing a single HP of damage, mainly using Charm, Diplomacy, and buffing/debuffing.
So my question is, when you were designing Pathfinder, were there any changes to the classes you really wanted that didn't make it through?
Excellent!
As for changes to the classes that didn't make it? Not really. That's kinda one of the whole points for us doing Pathfinder; we got to make all the changes we wanted.
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Creative Director
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At PaizoCon or Gen Con? Cuz I will be in the room at Gen Con.I search the messageboards frequently so that I can glean more information about Numeria and what kinds of things are going on there. Is there an AP, module, or player companion in the works that will show us what Numeria has to offer?
If so, when do you think it will be available for eager gamers like me?
No such AP or module or player companion is available at this point, nor have we announced anything of that nature for 2013.
But.
Stay tuned.
Who said anything about conventions?
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Creative Director
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Hi, James.
I have a Rise of the Runelords question for you, about a change between the original and the Anniversary Edition...
Spoiler:In the original Hook Mountain Massacre, the PCs encounter an injured bear ("Kibb") that turns out to be the animal companion of the captured Black Arrow ranger Jakardos. In the AE, Kibb was changed to a fireprelt cougar. Why the change?
Two reasons.
2) Because firepelt cougars are more on theme for Varisia.
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Creative Director
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What were the definitive events the began/ended each of the Ages on Golarion?
Age of Lost Omens is Aroden's death.
Age of Enthronement was the rise of Absalom.
Earthfall obviously begat the Age of Darkness.
Ydersius being beheaded sounds like a good close for the Age of Serpents and the beginning of the Age of Legends.
What of the rest?
Do other continents have differing Ages? Obviously Tian Xia had the Age of Dragons.
Depends on the region. The events you mention above are appropriate for the Inner Sea region, but not for other regions on Golarion.
But for the Inner Sea region...
Age of Lost Omens begins with Aroden's death.
Age of Enthronement begins with Absalom being founded.
Age of Destiny begins with Osirion being founded (this being the first significant human empire to arise in the region since ever).
Age of Anguish begins as humanity starts to recover from Earthfall.
Age of Darkness begins with Earthfall.
Age of Legend begins with the founding of Azlant.
Age of Serpents begins with the first intelligent natives of the region forming the first society; there were other intelligent creatures on Golarion before then but they weren't natives. The first intelligent race is unrevealed.
Age of Creation begins with the beginning of time.
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Familiars, animal companions and death of the "master".
What happen to the animal companion or familiar when a druid, witch wizard ecc. die? And how fast it happen?
From what I get as their abilities are a feature of the master class at some point they will revert to normal animals.
The section of the rules where it is explained how a witch familiar can get new spells has this text: "If a familiar belongs to a witch that has died, it only retains its knowledge of spells for 24 hours, during which time it is possible to coerce or bribe the familiar into teaching its spells to another, subject to GM discretion.", so apparently a witch familiar revert to a normal creature after 24 hours and lose all of his spell knowledge.
That seem a bit harsh. If the group isn't capable to bring back the witch withing 24 hours from is death he will lose access to all his spells beside the patron spells.
Even with the other familiars or animal companions where the PC loss will be smaller it seem harsh to have the familiar or animal companion that the other characters have learned to know and maybe to love becoming a normal specimen of his specie. (AFAIK there the time that will elapse before that happen isn't specified anywhere.)
The cat that was as smart as half of the PC and that thanks to some use of magic was capable to speak is now a creature with 2 intelligence. The leopard that has saved several of the group members is now a feral beast and risk to die from the wounds received in the last battle as its hd have dropped sharply. It will lose all the learned tricks and even if recovered after the master has been raise he would have to learn them again from scratch.
I realize that if it wasn't working this way some player would abuse it in the opposite way, using the benefit from a class feature of a deceased character for a long time, but for people that see the familiar or animal companion as a character having them "reset" shortly after the dead of the master seem wrong.
So, to repeat the two questions:
1) what happen when the "master" of a familiar or animal companion die?
2) How fast it will happen?
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Creative Director
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Familiars, animal companions and death of the "master".
What happen to the animal companion or familiar when a druid, witch wizard ecc. die? And how fast it happen?
From what I get as their abilities are a feature of the master class at some point they will revert to normal animals.
The section of the rules where it is explained how a witch familiar can get new spells has this text: "If a familiar belongs to a witch that has died, it only retains its knowledge of spells for 24 hours, during which time it is possible to coerce or bribe the familiar into teaching its spells to another, subject to GM discretion.", so apparently a witch familiar revert to a normal creature after 24 hours and lose all of his spell knowledge.
That seem a bit harsh. If the group isn't capable to bring back the witch withing 24 hours from is death he will lose access to all his spells beside the patron spells.Even with the other familiars or animal companions where the PC loss will be smaller it seem harsh to have the familiar or animal companion that the other characters have learned to know and maybe to love becoming a normal specimen of his specie. (AFAIK there the time that will elapse before that happen isn't specified anywhere.)
The cat that was as smart as half of the PC and that thanks to some use of magic was capable to speak is now a creature with 2 intelligence. The leopard that has saved several of the group members is now a feral beast and risk to die from the wounds received in the last battle as its hd have dropped sharply. It will lose all the learned tricks and even if recovered after the master has been raise he would have to learn them again from scratch.
I realize that if it wasn't working this way some player would abuse it in the opposite way, using the benefit from a class feature of a deceased character for a long time, but for people that see the familiar or animal companion as a character having them "reset" shortly after the dead of the master seem wrong.
So, to repeat the two questions:
1) what happen when the "master" of a familiar or animal companion die?
2) How fast it will happen?
1) The familiar or animal companion can no longer advance in power as a familiar or animal companion, but does not lose the bulk of its current powers, although those abilities and features dependent on the master no longer function. A witch's familiar's "expiration date" for spells it knows is an exception, and yes it does seem a bit harsh. My suggestion would be to ignore that rule, honestly. It doesn't really make sense to me, nor is it fair to the witch herself. In any event, the creature does not get to grant its powers or abilities to another person.
2) Immediately.
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Creative Director
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Is it a sacrifice in the sense that the soul of the sacrificee gets sent to Z-K the way it would if it was being done by say an Ebon Idol or a consecrated altar?Next question is about Zon-Kuthon . In another thread a player mentioned that after the battle they were going about, finishing off the foes, administered a coup de grace. The Zon-Kuthon worshiper was saying that his kills counted as “sacrifices” to that evil deity, but I am thinking there is likely a bit more than just muttering the name under your breath as you slit a throat- maybe some incense, altars, special knives, being a ordained priest, special victims, etc?
And, could one be a neutral worshiper of Zon-Kuthon?
A sacrifice is a sacrifice. Whether or not it's a spur of the moment happenstance thing or the focus of a big ceremony in a cathedral doesn't change the fact that it's not a sacrifice, but it does change the impact of the act on fellow believers and the like. Certainly, if you're expecting to get magical boons or the attention of a deity, you need to go grand or go home.
Huh?