Creative Director
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Well, I was fishing more for semi-specific "Class Features" differences. Or maybe you knew that and you're being coy about potential future products.
Maybe I did.
And even if I wasn't being coy, which I might be, I'd still not really want to post actual game design stuff here, since that'd turn into "critique James's design" instead of "Ask James Anything." AKA: It'd be off topic.
Yup. Achaekek's stats are obsolete now. Feel free to use them for fun though... or as his avatar.I'm a big fan of not statting up gods - does this mean the 3.5 stats and abilities etcetera in AP9 are effectively retconned/irrelevant?
I'm just curious about how you think about instances like this (rare as they are).
Ah yeah. Using them for an avatar would make a lot of sense (and just how super awesome the real thing would be). Cheers.
Maybe I did.
And even if I wasn't being coy, which I might be, I'd still not really want to post actual game design stuff here, since that'd turn into "critique James's design" instead of "Ask James Anything." AKA: It'd be off topic.
Fair enough. I'll ask you you something related. What do you think makes a swashbuckler a swashbuckler, as opposed to a fighter or a rogue?
In other words, why do you want it to be it's own class? (Not questioning you here. I just want to hear your side.)
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James, question on Champions of Purity and penances.
My question is, what about those alignments that shift the other axis(ie. Lawful/Chaotic/Neutral)?
Example: A monk has been fairly blah about things lately, and almost getting a bit lazy on the whole law aspect. He's LN, but he's been too neutral about something. Or maybe something snapped and he went chaotic for whatever reason. How many penances do you do then? Equal to your HD? I would have liked to have seen a small write up about that somewhere. I mean, I've got a friend who was playing a LG paladin, and because of his attitude towards certain things that didn't really interest him as a player, the GM made him NG instead, and a fallen paladin. So what do you do other than an atonement for gold? He should be allowed penance. However, there's no rulings in here for that.
Is it unreasonable that it should equal to your HD instead of double?
What do you suggest?
What would you recommend for a PC-founded arcane study group? After looking at the various magic schools it doesn't really fit. It wants to be a general "club," as it were, that accepts all arcane traditions and provides an overall welcome environment for people to use magic and get better at it.
From what I've seen the various schools are either teaching, religious, hidden or the super pragmatic guild type. However, this place would be both teaching for those traditions but also provide mentorship for the more spontaneous ones as well as advocating the use of magic toward good-aligned goals. In short, think Jedi for Golarion.
In other words it seems have a bit of each type of school minus the religious bend. It is staunchly neutral in relation to politics and religion.
Couple of questions:
Do any of the Dragon Empire deities have heralds?
Do those gods worshipped in both the Inner Sea & Tian Xia, e.g. Desna, have the same holy symbols in both places?
You've said multiple times that you are interested in making a Swashbuckler class. How would you differentiate that class from the Fighter and the Rogue (which I consider to be the closest to that role)?The same way one differentiates between a samurai and a cavalier, or an antipaladin and a paladin. Or maybe not even that.
I’m sad that Pathfinder haven’t got a Swashbuckler class yet since it one of my favourite concept, Zorro, Errol Flynn and all that. There really isn't any class that can rely on dex and still deal damage that match the full BAB classes.
If it was up to you:1) Would the Swashbuckler be a full BAB class?
2) How many skill points per level would it get?
3) What is your thought when it comes to the Swashbuckler?
Finally, I guess you’ve heard this a 1000 times, but here it goes again: the Bestiary 4 looks awesome.
James!
Not a question, but I wanted to make sure you knew about this!
I would have posted on Facebook, but I thought you might see it here sooner. (I might post over there, forgive the redundancy, I was just excited for you)
Sandy Peterson doing a Cthulhu strategy board game
Here's another link at BoardGameGeek.com: Here
Cthulhu Wars is a strategy boardgame in which the players take the part of alien races and gods taken from the Cthulhu mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft. The game is physically large, and includes around eighty 28mm plastic and/or resin figurines of the cultists, monsters, aliens, and Great Old Ones.
The game takes place on a map of Earth. Each player takes the part of one of four factions (more factions are promised for future expansions). At the start of a turn, players Gather Power, then, during a series of Action Rounds, they spend this Power to accomplish various tasks, such as moving units, engaging in battle, summoning monsters, building Gates, casting spells, and Awakening their Great Old One. When all players run out of Power, the Action phase ends and the next turn begins. Victory is determined by accumulating points on the Doom Track - the first player to 20 is the lone victor.
Driving the strategy are a player's wish to expand his power base, and his need to accomplish six tasks to acquire his faction's spellbooks. Each faction has a unique set of monsters, spellbooks, and special abilities, and has different requirements to acquire its spellbooks. All factions have multiple strategies open to them.
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Creative Director
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Maybe I did.
And even if I wasn't being coy, which I might be, I'd still not really want to post actual game design stuff here, since that'd turn into "critique James's design" instead of "Ask James Anything." AKA: It'd be off topic.
Fair enough. I'll ask you you something related. What do you think makes a swashbuckler a swashbuckler, as opposed to a fighter or a rogue?
In other words, why do you want it to be it's own class? (Not questioning you here. I just want to hear your side.)
Currently... there's no good option if you want to build a character who doesn't wear armor or use a shield and fights with only a one-handed weapon.
You can build that character with a fighter, but you're missing out on the whole point of how fighters get really good at wearing armor without it slowing them down. Also, fighters suck at Reflex saves, and a swashbuckler shouldn't.
You can build that character with a rogue, but you'll also have some unwanted trap-themed character elements and you won't have the hp or the BAB to match a fighter. Swashbucklers, in my mind, fight duels on a one-on-one basis against a single foe, and that's the combat scenario at which the rogue is the WORST at—the rogue is all about fighting foes in groups or by doing ambush/sniper type tactics.
You can fake things with multiclassing and archetypes and especially prestige classes. In fact, the duelist is VERY MUCH in line with the type of thing I'd do with a full swashbuckler base class.
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
Quick couple of questions about the Diabolist imp companion. Since they are adding outsider hit die, not animal hit die, does an imp companion have full BAB? Herolab seems to think they do.
Additionally, because the imp's type is outsider, do they have all simple and martial weapon proficiencies?
Edit: Finally, the text for imp companion says they are "similar to an animal companion". For the purposes of feats and alternate racials, are they counted as an animal companion?
Cheers!
The imp has a full BAB, yes.
It gains all simple and martial weapon proficiences, yes.
No; they're not counted as an animal companion for the purposes of feats or alternate rules.
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Creative Director
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James, question on Champions of Purity and penances.
My question is, what about those alignments that shift the other axis(ie. Lawful/Chaotic/Neutral)?
Example: A monk has been fairly blah about things lately, and almost getting a bit lazy on the whole law aspect. He's LN, but he's been too neutral about something. Or maybe something snapped and he went chaotic for whatever reason. How many penances do you do then? Equal to your HD? I would have liked to have seen a small write up about that somewhere. I mean, I've got a friend who was playing a LG paladin, and because of his attitude towards certain things that didn't really interest him as a player, the GM made him NG instead, and a fallen paladin. So what do you do other than an atonement for gold? He should be allowed penance. However, there's no rulings in here for that.
Is it unreasonable that it should equal to your HD instead of double?
What do you suggest?
Use the exact same rules for switching from chaotic to neutral to lawful. In fact, you can apply those rules in reverse as well. They work fine going in any direction, although the flavor text might need to change.
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Creative Director
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If the Mantis god is now a full fledged Deity dosent that mean he should really have a herald now as well? (I may be wrong on this but all full fledged gods seem to have heralds save Rovagug.)
He could have one, but at this point he does not. You must be a deity to have a herald, but not every deity has a herald.
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Creative Director
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2) At this point, with Achaekek being a full-fledged deity, he's out of reach of Mythic characters. He doesn't even have a stat block in Pathfinder—no deity does. Even if the mortal becomes a demigod.
3) Until we do a deities rulebook (which we're unlikely to do... but never say never!), nope; a mortal, even a mythic mortal, can't kill a god by conventional means (aka by using game rules to combat the deity). There may be other ways to kill a god but they'd be handled as part of a story or campaign and wouldn't have stat blocks.
Hmm. Per your answer that he might well be hunting those seeking to take the Test of the Starstone, then, how could anybody possibly complete the Test and ascend to godhood before they die if Achaekek decides to hunt them? He's a god, and if not even a full 20-level 10-tier Mythic character has a hope of actually killing/beating him should he decide to hunt the individual, it seems as if the only option is to run until you die.
Additionally, if you were to rank him in terms of relative power among the other deities, would he be among the weaker ones? Right down at the very bottom of the deity ranks, even?
He doesn't hunt Every Single Person who tries to become a deity. Basically, he hunts the people the GM wants him to hunt in order to tell the story the GM wants to tell—the "rules' there are kept vague and undefined on purpose to allow for whatever adventure or tale you wish to do.
He would probably be at the low end of power, since he's not a core deity, but he's been around a LONG time—he was worshiped in Azlant, after all, so he's been more powerful in the past probably, or might even still be powerful and just doesn't show it.
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Creative Director
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What would you recommend for a PC-founded arcane study group? After looking at the various magic schools it doesn't really fit. It wants to be a general "club," as it were, that accepts all arcane traditions and provides an overall welcome environment for people to use magic and get better at it.
From what I've seen the various schools are either teaching, religious, hidden or the super pragmatic guild type. However, this place would be both teaching for those traditions but also provide mentorship for the more spontaneous ones as well as advocating the use of magic toward good-aligned goals. In short, think Jedi for Golarion.
In other words it seems have a bit of each type of school minus the religious bend. It is staunchly neutral in relation to politics and religion.
If an existing magic school doesn't fit, then the PC-founded group should build its own group. Rules for this are close... they're part of Ultimate Campaign.
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Creative Director
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Couple of questions:
Do any of the Dragon Empire deities have heralds?
Do those gods worshipped in both the Inner Sea & Tian Xia, e.g. Desna, have the same holy symbols in both places?
I would assume that the Dragon Empire deities have heralds, yes. They might be called something else. I've not yet done any thought or research into that area.
Deities worshiped in multiple regions have the same holy symbol, yes.
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Creative Director
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I’m sad that Pathfinder haven’t got a Swashbuckler class yet since it one of my favourite concept, Zorro, Errol Flynn and all that. There really isn't any class that can rely on dex and still deal damage that match the full BAB classes.
If it was up to you:
1) Would the Swashbuckler be a full BAB class?
2) How many skill points per level would it get?
3) What is your thought when it comes to the Swashbuckler?Finally, I guess you’ve heard this a 1000 times, but here it goes again: the Bestiary 4 looks awesome.
1) Yes.
2) 2 or 4; not sure.
3) That it should be a base class.
Finally) Thanks!
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Creative Director
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I just wanted to say that VHS had been on my Netflix queue for a while and seeing it listed as one of your favorite recent horror movies prompted me to sit down with it.
AWESOME MOVIE.
Any good horror you watched recently?
I'm a little behind on my reviews due to the Gen Con crush, but I'm hoping to get back on schedule this week. (I need to post reviews for "Oblivion" and "Frankenstein Theory.")
Frankenstein Theory was pretty good. Especially if you like found footage.
Best horror movie I've seen recently though was, hands down, "Evil Dead."
Dear James Jacobs,
If someone asked you to design a "Technic" Bloodline for Sorcerers geared towards either Androids or members of the Technic League, what are some design options you would consider?
Thanks!
Contributor
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I’m sad that Pathfinder haven’t got a Swashbuckler class yet since it one of my favourite concept, Zorro, Errol Flynn and all that. There really isn't any class that can rely on dex and still deal damage that match the full BAB classes.
If it was up to you:
1) Would the Swashbuckler be a full BAB class?
2) How many skill points per level would it get?
3) What is your thought when it comes to the Swashbuckler?Finally, I guess you’ve heard this a 1000 times, but here it goes again: the Bestiary 4 looks awesome.
1) Yes.
2) 2 or 4; not sure.
3) That it should be a base class.
Finally) Thanks!
This needs to have an advocacy thread. I want a Swashbuckler base class, still being unsatisfied (for all the same reasons you enumerate) with what's available right now, because I need one for my homebrew, but I also think it would benefit the game as a whole.
Of course, there have been 3pp attempts, and I think someone else could pick up the ball. Nonetheless, these classes wouldn't be PFS permitted, or incorporated into the campaign setting.I have wanted to play one of these myself, since reading Dumas as a kid. Watching Syrio Forel being portrayed in GoT, and Alatriste (by Viggo Mortensen) reawoke that desire.
Please keep trying to have this happen, James.
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This needs to have an advocacy thread. I want a Swashbuckler base class, still being unsatisfied (for all the same reasons you enumerate) with what's available right now, because I need one for my homebrew, but I also think it would benefit the game as a whole.
Of course, there have been 3pp attempts, and I think someone else could pick up the ball. Nonetheless, these classes wouldn't be PFS permitted, or incorporated into the campaign setting.
I have wanted to play one of these myself, since reading Dumas as a kid. Watching Syrio Forel being portrayed in GoT, and Alatriste (by Viggo Mortensen) reawoke that desire.
Please keep trying to have this happen, James.
Start an advocacy thread, Jeff. I created one for a possible Advanced Monsters Guide, and its taking off. The Suggestion Section is the place to put it. I'll post my support, and we'll see if the community can carry it far enough that James can make a compelling case.
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Contributor
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Start an advocacy thread, Jeff. I created one for a possible Advanced Monsters Guide, and its taking off. The Suggestion Section is the place to put it. I'll post my support, and we'll see if the community can carry it far enough that James can make a compelling case.This needs to have an advocacy thread. I want a Swashbuckler base class, still being unsatisfied (for all the same reasons you enumerate) with what's available right now, because I need one for my homebrew, but I also think it would benefit the game as a whole.
Of course, there have been 3pp attempts, and I think someone else could pick up the ball. Nonetheless, these classes wouldn't be PFS permitted, or incorporated into the campaign setting.
I have wanted to play one of these myself, since reading Dumas as a kid. Watching Syrio Forel being portrayed in GoT, and Alatriste (by Viggo Mortensen) reawoke that desire.
Please keep trying to have this happen, James.
So, moving on from Swashbuckling awesomeness (yay swashbuckling), was Irori modeled after Guatama Buddha?
Also, has Irori spent prolonged periods of time sitting under trees?
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Frankenstein Theory was pretty good. Especially if you like found footage.
Queued.
Back on the Golarion side of things, there are rules for ex-Clerics but none that I've found for Clerics that switch gods. How would you handle a Cleric that switched from say Desna to Iomedae in Wrath of the Righteous because there was no place for beauty in the world while the Worldwound existed. Or a Cleric that switched from Abadar to Gozreh because civilization had no place in the depths of the Mwangi expanse? I know there are perfectly valid reasons for Clerics to not switch gods but I'm interested in a story where someone becomes what he thinks he needs to be in order to survive the challenges he finds himself facing. Assume this happens right around the end of book 1 or the beginning of book 2 in an AP.
A) Have the player switch domains and all granted powers and spells.
B) Have the player switch domains but permanently lose granted powers and/or domain spells given by previous god.
C) Have the player hold off on taking domains at all until he switches gods so that the change has more impact and there isn't an disruption in things he's managed to do before.
1) Hmmm... good point. He grants 5 domains. He is therefore a deity, and we will not be statting him up until we generate rules for statting up deities... which we may never do. And the more I think of this, the more I'm okay with this, since it...
I thought part of the point of the Mantis God was that he wasn't a true deity. Are you sure that giving him five domains wasn't just a mistake?
Personally, I was looking forward to seeing his stats because technically he should be a potential threat to Mythic characters who think they can userp a god's power. (Of course, this would be a plotline thing, not something that characters can generally just choose to do)
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Creative Director
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Dear James Jacobs,
If someone asked you to design a "Technic" Bloodline for Sorcerers geared towards either Androids or members of the Technic League, what are some design options you would consider?
Thanks!
Options that would require rules for nanotech, cybertech, and other advanced science to exist in a form to support such a bloodline's themes and powers.
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Creative Director
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This needs to have an advocacy thread. I want a Swashbuckler base class, still being unsatisfied (for all the same reasons you enumerate) with what's available right now, because I need one for my homebrew, but I also think it would benefit the game as a whole.
Of course, there have been 3pp attempts, and I think someone else could pick up the ball. Nonetheless, these classes wouldn't be PFS permitted, or incorporated into the campaign setting.
I have wanted to play one of these myself, since reading Dumas as a kid. Watching Syrio Forel being portrayed in GoT, and Alatriste (by Viggo Mortensen) reawoke that desire.
Please keep trying to have this happen, James.
Well... the creative director of the company has been advocating for a swashbuckler class for several years, now. Not sure what else can be done, but I will say that gears are in motion. Even if they're super slow.
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Creative Director
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Use the exact same rules for switching from chaotic to neutral to lawful. In fact, you can apply those rules in reverse as well. They work fine going in any direction, although the flavor text might need to change.I was afraid you were going to say something like that.
Why be afraid?
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Creative Director
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1) Hmmm... good point. He grants 5 domains. He is therefore a deity, and we will not be statting him up until we generate rules for statting up deities... which we may never do. And the more I think of this, the more I'm okay with this, since it...I thought part of the point of the Mantis God was that he wasn't a true deity. Are you sure that giving him five domains wasn't just a mistake?
Personally, I was looking forward to seeing his stats because technically he should be a potential threat to Mythic characters who think they can userp a god's power. (Of course, this would be a plotline thing, not something that characters can generally just choose to do)
I'm sure that giving him five domains wasn't just a mistake, since I'm the one who did that in the first place. I'd just forgotten I'd done it.
In the 3.5 incarnation of his stats, we hadn't really figured out how the difference between deity and demigod and domains worked, since we still were kinda flying under the 3.5 D&D rules there but didn't really know HOW we wanted to incorporate things like Deities & Demigods or the Epic Level handbook at the time. He was also statted up before we realized that 3.5 D&D was going away, remember—we didn't realize at the time that we were going to have to make our own game at all.
Times changed. And Achaekek changed with them.
James,
1)Where do the souls of the followers/whorshipers of the Elder/Outer gods go after their deaths?
2)Can I have a Paizo book/module/adventure path set in Numeria? Please?
PS.: I would also really love a swashbuckler base class! It's really frustrating to wait until level 6+ (for the duelist) to finally be able to play with a concept you wanted from level 1.
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Creative Director
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Frankenstein Theory was pretty good. Especially if you like found footage.
Queued.
Back on the Golarion side of things, there are rules for ex-Clerics but none that I've found for Clerics that switch gods. How would you handle a Cleric that switched from say Desna to Iomedae in Wrath of the Righteous because there was no place for beauty in the world while the Worldwound existed. Or a Cleric that switched from Abadar to Gozreh because civilization had no place in the depths of the Mwangi expanse? I know there are perfectly valid reasons for Clerics to not switch gods but I'm interested in a story where someone becomes what he thinks he needs to be in order to survive the challenges he finds himself facing. Assume this happens right around the end of book 1 or the beginning of book 2 in an AP.
A) Have the player switch domains and all granted powers and spells.
B) Have the player switch domains but permanently lose granted powers and/or domain spells given by previous god.
C) Have the player hold off on taking domains at all until he switches gods so that the change has more impact and there isn't an disruption in things he's managed to do before.
After the cleric goes through the transition and spent some time as an ex cleric, then when she becomes accepted into the new religion, the cleric picks two new domains that are appropriate for the deity. Their favored weapon changes too. I'd actually let the player change any weapon-related feats (like Weapon Focus) to the new weapon.
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Creative Director
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Does anyone know of a module that is based mainly on hack and slash rather than role-playing? I'm trying to run a game this weekend and the party really just wants some challenging encounters to test their lev 5s on...
Ummm... we generally try our best to put in a lot of roleplaying elements to our adventures, even when they're standard dungeon crawls. I'm not sure what your limits are for "roleplaying," but you can simply just skip those parts and run the combats if that's what you're looking for, I suppose.
Or if it's really just a case of wanting to test characters in a fight... just grab a flip mat and run combats with CR 5 monsters chosen from the Bestiary.
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Creative Director
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More Achaekek-related questions (they just keep piling up), and a brief change of subject:
1) Why must the Blood Mistress always be female? Other than the fact that "Mistress" generally implies a woman of some sort, is this a law that Achaekek set down for the Red Mantis, or is it simply a rule that mortals adhere to for whatever reason?
2) If it's just a mortal rule and not something Achaekek cares about, then has this requirement for a female leader ever been challenged or outright removed in the past before it came around to what it is in "modern" Golarion?
3) Did it even start out that way in the first place?
4) In Dragons Revisited, Theratylus is described as a legendary black dragon held up as an example of how present dragons pale in comparison. Was he a prime example of a Mythic dragon? Or just a regular Great Wyrm that was simply more active than others of his kind?
5) What sort of mythic abilities would you give out to a mythic dragon as a guideline? Not looking for rules (I suspect that they might appear in Mythic Adventures, yes?), just thoughts on what sort of things the abilities would be.
1) Because of the urban legend that mantids eat their mates, we made the Red Mantis a mostly matriarchal society. And because there's already plenty of male-dominated stuff in RPGs just by dint of the fact that most of the authors of RPGs are men.
2) Nope. Part of what makes traditions strong is that they're not contested.
3) Yes, the Red Mantises have always been led by a woman. Note that Achaekek is a LOT older than the Red Mantis society, and you should not confuse "Red Mantis" with "Cult of Achaekek." Those are different things. It just so happens that in the modern day, the bulk of those who worship Achaekek are the Red Mantis.
4) Unrevealed.
5) That question is answered by Mythic Adventures. In that there's stats for several mythic dragons in the book.
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Creative Director
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James,
1)Where do the souls of the followers/whorshipers of the Elder/Outer gods go after their deaths?
2)Can I have a Paizo book/module/adventure path set in Numeria? Please?
PS.: I would also really love a swashbuckler base class! It's really frustrating to wait until level 6+ (for the duelist) to finally be able to play with a concept you wanted from level 1.
1) Assuming they don't get consumed or otherwise lost to their deadly/dangerous objects of adoration, they go to the Boneyard and likely end up going on to the Abyss, since the vast bulk of them are chaotic evil, where they help spawn new demons. Some of them might go to the Maelstrom instead. The Great Old Ones and Outer Gods don't care, in any event—they have no real use or need for petitioners.
2) I'll see what I can do.
PS: I agree.
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Nyarlathotep Cult Building Process
Step 1: Appear as a great object of veneration.
Step 2: Watch fooled/insane idiots get tossed into the Abyss.
Step 3: Laugh and laugh and laugh.
Would demons formed from the souls of Elder God worshippers form their own unique creature?
Mythos demon!!!
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C"thu'hlar.tor
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I read that Storm Giants often own large estates, farmlands...etc, employ humans and elves for work and "take charge" and protect their lands. Plus they are CG.
So where in Golarion can you find Storm Giant enclaves?
And how is the relationship between them and the people who work for them?
Aka, how do Storm Giants fit into the world of Golarion? (And her sister planets.)
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Creative Director
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Would demons formed from the souls of Elder God worshippers form their own unique creature?
Nope. One a soul becomes a larva, it's scrubbed of its previous memories and personality and just becomes one more sinful soul to fuel demonic birth/formation. The type of their sin still determines what they turn into, of course.
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Creative Director
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I read that Storm Giants often own large estates, farmlands...etc, employ humans and elves for work and "take charge" and protect their lands. Plus they are CG.
So where in Golarion can you find Storm Giant enclaves?
And how is the relationship between them and the people who work for them?
Aka, how do Storm Giants fit into the world of Golarion? (And her sister planets.)
Azlant, for the most part, I would think. Their human minions would variously see them as gods or overlords or heroes.
No question tonight, just got linked this and thought of you. Not sure if you'll be amused or irked, hopefully the former. =)