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Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Orthos wrote:
No question tonight, just got linked this and thought of you. Not sure if you'll be amused or irked, hopefully the former. =)

Ha!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Alleran wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
5) That question is answered by Mythic Adventures. In that there's stats for several mythic dragons in the book.

Ooh.

When you say several, do you mean several as in one or more for each colour, several as in there are some new types of dragons included in there, or both?

Will there also be Mythic "singular" foes specific to Golarion in it, or is it supposed to only provide general creatures?

For example, the Inner Sea Bestiary has Chemnosit and Volnagur, there's the Tarrasque, Lorthact is around, and so on and so forth. They're powerful unique enemies, but they aren't Mythic. It'd be nice to get a look at some of the Mythic ones. I'd like to get a look at Ulunat, or the Unnamed First Spawn if it wasn't Ulunat (was it Ulunat?). And even stats for Tar-Baphon, some of the Mythic Runelords, or other powerful mythic individuals throughout Golarion's history.

As another change of topic, will there be another Faction Guide with more organisations at any point in the near or not-so-near future?

Several = 5. Each of the Chromatic dragons gets a mythic dragon writeup. And that's probably saying too much already, so I'll stop talking about that now.

There won't be Golarion-specific monsters in Mythic Adventures, which is a world-neutral book. We'll have other products in the later half of 2013 that give you lots of those types of foes to play with.

Chemnosit and Volnagur and Lorthact and Treerazer and all those are specifically NOT mythic... although they're all excellent creatures for a mythic party to fight. Remember... being mythic doesn't mean you stop fighting non-mythic stuff. It just means you can fight more powerful foes than normal.

We have no plans to expand upon the Faction Guide at this point.

Dark Archive

When one reads an alignment for a creature in the bestiary, should one mentally precede this with the word "usually", "predominantly" or "always"?

Richard


James Jacobs wrote:
Several = 5. Each of the Chromatic dragons gets a mythic dragon writeup. And that's probably saying too much already, so I'll stop talking about that now.

Huh? No Mythic love for the metallic dragons? *sad*

One more question about mythic foes... Treerazer, Lorthact, Nightripper and the gang are non-mythic beings. Does this effect hold true for all beings of their tier, i.e. are Nascent Demon Lords, Infernal Dukes and the like non-mythic by definition (despite reaching CR 25, which is the same as at least one mythic runelord)?

Or is it just that all Nascent Demon Lords etc. that have been statted up to now are non-mythic, and there may (or will) be mythic ones, as well?


Since Lorthact and Zelishkar are the first Stat blocks to show the Infernal Duke and Harbinger subtype traits respectively , can we expect to see them listed amongst the other subtypes in the Bestiary 4?

Silver Crusade

How exactly did Couatls come about on Golarion? Did they immigrate from the good aligned planes and eventually adapt to the Material Plane or were they created on Golarion?

Other native outsiders like Rakshasas, Oni, Tieflings, and Aasimars have reasons and ways fro the how they were brought into being (Rakshasas and Oni being evil spirits and Tieflings and Aasimar being offspring).

Basically just wondering how they gained the outsider type instead of just having the magical beast type.


Before the Sun-Orchard elixer was fully perfected, were there prototype versions of the elixer that didn't work out too well?
Ones that were perhaps, negative in their effects (returning a creature to its young age, but erasing all class levels, or maybe one that simply erased a persons memories from the time they were at their race's starting age?)

Oh, and while inventing aforementioned elixer, how did the alchemist (whose name eludes me at the moment, I'm embarrassed to say) test his concoction? I'm guessing the "no humanoids were harmed in the making of this formula" label would not apply here.

Also thank you so much for this thread, and everything else you do!!
Seriously.

Liberty's Edge

As you cited several of the films in which he worked as films you like, I think you will be interested to know that Ray Harryhausen has died yesterday.

Liberty's Edge

James,

Archetypes cannot stack with another archetype that replaces or alters the same ability.

The Qingong Monk archetype allows the player to choose several standard monk abilities to replace with Ki powers.

If the Qingong Monk does not choose to replace, for example, slow fall at 4th level, could they take another archetype that replaces or alters slow fall?

On the other hand, if the Qingong Monk does replace slow fall at 4th level, I know any archetype that also replaces or alters slow fall would not be able to stack with the Qingong Monk.

Thanks,

Andy

Paizo Employee Creative Director

richard develyn wrote:

When one reads an alignment for a creature in the bestiary, should one mentally precede this with the word "usually", "predominantly" or "always"?

Richard

As explained on page 5 of the Bestiary, a monster's listed alignment represent the norm for that monster—they can vary as you require them to in order to serve the needs of your campaign. Only in the case of monsters with Int scores of less than 2 (or without Int scores at all) and planar monsters like demons and azatas are alignments pretty set in stone... but even then, if you have the right reasons and desires, they can change as well.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Midnight_Angel wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Several = 5. Each of the Chromatic dragons gets a mythic dragon writeup. And that's probably saying too much already, so I'll stop talking about that now.

Huh? No Mythic love for the metallic dragons? *sad*

One more question about mythic foes... Treerazer, Lorthact, Nightripper and the gang are non-mythic beings. Does this effect hold true for all beings of their tier, i.e. are Nascent Demon Lords, Infernal Dukes and the like non-mythic by definition (despite reaching CR 25, which is the same as at least one mythic runelord)?

Or is it just that all Nascent Demon Lords etc. that have been statted up to now are non-mythic, and there may (or will) be mythic ones, as well?

Correct—all nascent demon lords and their like are not built using the mythic rules. On purpose.

Powerful does NOT mean you have to be mythic. Nor does mythic mean you need to be powerful. You can have a CR 2 mythic monster.

That even goes for creatures of CR 26–30; these super-powerful foes won't always have mythic powers. Some might only have some mythic stuff, and others might have lots, and others might only have mythic power in certain situations, and some might not have it at all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Odraude wrote:
Since Lorthact and Zelishkar are the first Stat blocks to show the Infernal Duke and Harbinger subtype traits respectively , can we expect to see them listed amongst the other subtypes in the Bestiary 4?

Nope.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:

How exactly did Couatls come about on Golarion? Did they immigrate from the good aligned planes and eventually adapt to the Material Plane or were they created on Golarion?

Other native outsiders like Rakshasas, Oni, Tieflings, and Aasimars have reasons and ways fro the how they were brought into being (Rakshasas and Oni being evil spirits and Tieflings and Aasimar being offspring).

Basically just wondering how they gained the outsider type instead of just having the magical beast type.

We've done a 6 page article about couatls in "Mythical Monsters Revisited." I've not read the article though, so I can't say what it does and doesn't contain, but it might have answers for you about them.

As for why they're outsiders... that's tradition. In earlier editions of the game, back to 1st edition, where monster types didn't exist, couatls were associated with the ethereal plane, and in mythology they're servants of the gods, so those two reasons are likely why the 3rd edition D&D design team decided to make them outsiders, since doing so helped bolster the good guy outsider options, no doubt.

And when we made Pathfinder, we saw no reason to change them. In fact, we only changed TWO monster types—ropers became aberrations (they were magical beasts) and derros became humanoid (they were monstrous humanoids).


James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:

How exactly did Couatls come about on Golarion? Did they immigrate from the good aligned planes and eventually adapt to the Material Plane or were they created on Golarion?

Other native outsiders like Rakshasas, Oni, Tieflings, and Aasimars have reasons and ways fro the how they were brought into being (Rakshasas and Oni being evil spirits and Tieflings and Aasimar being offspring).

Basically just wondering how they gained the outsider type instead of just having the magical beast type.

We've done a 6 page article about couatls in "Mythical Monsters Revisited." I've not read the article though, so I can't say what it does and doesn't contain, but it might have answers for you about them.

Parts of this article are on the Couatl's page on d20pfsrd. If you like it, consider picking up the entire book!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

draykhar wrote:

Before the Sun-Orchard elixer was fully perfected, were there prototype versions of the elixer that didn't work out too well?

Ones that were perhaps, negative in their effects (returning a creature to its young age, but erasing all class levels, or maybe one that simply erased a persons memories from the time they were at their race's starting age?)

Oh, and while inventing aforementioned elixer, how did the alchemist (whose name eludes me at the moment, I'm embarrassed to say) test his concoction? I'm guessing the "no humanoids were harmed in the making of this formula" label would not apply here.

Also thank you so much for this thread, and everything else you do!!
Seriously.

We've not said too much about the elixir, but I'm positive that the Alchemist had a bunch of false starts in making it work. Ones that had all sorts of unanticipated effects.

As for how he tested it... probably on himself. He (his name's Artokus Kirran btw) is neutral, so he probably took the stance of "it's for science!" and didn't concern himself OVER much with the ethics of the experiment... but he wouldn't have been cruel and unusual in his experiments either.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Diego Rossi wrote:

As you cited several of the films in which he worked as films you like, I think you will be interested to know that Ray Harryhausen has died yesterday.

Yup; saw that yesterday. SAD DAY!!! :(

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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Bbauzh ap Aghauzh wrote:

James,

Archetypes cannot stack with another archetype that replaces or alters the same ability.

The Qingong Monk archetype allows the player to choose several standard monk abilities to replace with Ki powers.

If the Qingong Monk does not choose to replace, for example, slow fall at 4th level, could they take another archetype that replaces or alters slow fall?

On the other hand, if the Qingong Monk does replace slow fall at 4th level, I know any archetype that also replaces or alters slow fall would not be able to stack with the Qingong Monk.

Thanks,

Andy

I would say no. If an archetype offers you the option to replace an ability, that counts as not being able to take a different archetype.

Dark Archive

I'm a huge fan of Robert Jordan and loved the Wheel of Time series. You?

Did you know Robert Jordan wrote a bunch of Conan stories too? They are also quite excellent and, in my opinion, equal to Howard's originals.

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:

How exactly did Couatls come about on Golarion? Did they immigrate from the good aligned planes and eventually adapt to the Material Plane or were they created on Golarion?

Other native outsiders like Rakshasas, Oni, Tieflings, and Aasimars have reasons and ways fro the how they were brought into being (Rakshasas and Oni being evil spirits and Tieflings and Aasimar being offspring).

Basically just wondering how they gained the outsider type instead of just having the magical beast type.

We've done a 6 page article about couatls in "Mythical Monsters Revisited." I've not read the article though, so I can't say what it does and doesn't contain, but it might have answers for you about them.

As for why they're outsiders... that's tradition. In earlier editions of the game, back to 1st edition, where monster types didn't exist, couatls were associated with the ethereal plane, and in mythology they're servants of the gods, so those two reasons are likely why the 3rd edition D&D design team decided to make them outsiders, since doing so helped bolster the good guy outsider options, no doubt.

And when we made Pathfinder, we saw no reason to change them. In fact, we only changed TWO monster types—ropers became aberrations (they were magical beasts) and derros became humanoid (they were monstrous humanoids).

Thankies James and Orthos but yes I have MMR but the article does not talk about their genesis (I really need to start prefacing these questions :3).

And I figured the reason they're Native Outsiders was because of tradition but I was looking for the in-Golarion reason for their existence, not a rule/stat related one.

Hope that clarifies.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

YuenglingDragon wrote:

I'm a huge fan of Robert Jordan and loved the Wheel of Time series. You?

Did you know Robert Jordan wrote a bunch of Conan stories too? They are also quite excellent and, in my opinion, equal to Howard's originals.

Not a fan at all.

I've only ever tried to read one Robert Jordan story—his entry in the otherwise excellent "Legends" anthology, which was an anthology of short stories by famous authors of fantasy series, with the stories taking place in their most famous worlds.

Robert Jordan's entry was part of the Wheel of Time series, and it was the only story I couldn't finish. I did not like his writing style at all.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rysky wrote:

Thankies James and Orthos but yes I have MMR but the article does not talk about their genesis (I really need to start prefacing these questions :3).

And I figured the reason they're Native Outsiders was because of tradition but I was looking for the in-Golarion reason for their existence, not a rule/stat related one.

Hope that clarifies.

Ah; sounds like there isn't currently an in-Golarion reason for them to be native outsiders then. They just are.

If we do something more with couatls in the future, we might revisit that and delve further into it... but since we already covered them, that might not be for a LONG time...

Silver Crusade

James Jacobs wrote:
Rysky wrote:

Thankies James and Orthos but yes I have MMR but the article does not talk about their genesis (I really need to start prefacing these questions :3).

And I figured the reason they're Native Outsiders was because of tradition but I was looking for the in-Golarion reason for their existence, not a rule/stat related one.

Hope that clarifies.

Ah; sounds like there isn't currently an in-Golarion reason for them to be native outsiders then. They just are.

If we do something more with couatls in the future, we might revisit that and delve further into it... but since we already covered them, that might not be for a LONG time...

BWAAA Curse you Tyrant Creative Director T-Rex!!

*Shakes fist*

:3


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Dear James,
Is it possible for other races to take Racial Archetypes or do they have a racial prerequisite?

For instance, a Dwarvern Witch of the Scarred Witch Doctor (typicaly Orc/Half-Orc) archetype, or an Elven Buccanner Gunslinger (normaly Human).

Thank you for your time!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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ResidualRose wrote:

Dear James,

Is it possible for other races to take Racial Archetypes or do they have a racial prerequisite?

For instance, a Dwarvern Witch of the Scarred Witch Doctor (typicaly Orc/Half-Orc) archetype, or an Elven Buccanner Gunslinger (normaly Human).

Thank you for your time!

Up to the GM. My take is that it's fine, otherwise it's illegal, for example, for anyone but an aasimar to buy or own incense. It should be something decided on a case-by-case basis with your GM's approval.


1) Just curious, why do you prefer linnorms over chromatic/metallic dragons?

2) You've said your favorite dragon is the bronze dragon, but what is your favorite chromatic dragon?

3) I read "The Dunwich Horror" on your recommendation and loved it. Really, really loved it. I have a question though which I will spoiler just to be safe

Spoiler:
How do you imagine Wilbur Whateley's brother? Do you know of any good, free art depicting him? I think the closest thing I could think of was a shoggoth. Maybe I'm not supposed to be able to imagine him clearly though! :)

4) Finally, I just wanted to say thanks for introducing me to Lovecraft. I have a feeling he will become one of my favorite authors!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Daethor wrote:

1) Just curious, why do you prefer linnorms over chromatic/metallic dragons?

2) You've said your favorite dragon is the bronze dragon, but what is your favorite chromatic dragon?

3) I read "The Dunwich Horror" on your recommendation and loved it. Really, really loved it. I have a question though which I will spoiler just to be safe

** spoiler omitted **

4) Finally, I just wanted to say thanks for introducing me to Lovecraft. I have a feeling he will become one of my favorite authors!

1) Where did I say I prefer linnorms over chromatic/metallic dragons? I am certainly FOND of linnorms, since they're based on a cool real-world mythology, and because they're powerful, and because they have neat powers, but I'm also fond of dragons as well. Some more than others. I like bronze and umbral and red dragons in particular.

2) Red.

3) There's a LOT of art that's depicted that character. Just do a google search for him and you'll get lots. He is, in any event, a unique creature.

4) Yay!


I've been trawling through the archives of this thread, and I believe you've mentioned it several times. You never made it sound as though you didn't like dragons, just that linnorms were your favorites of the dragon creature type. It's possible your preferences have shifted a bit though!

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
richard develyn wrote:

When one reads an alignment for a creature in the bestiary, should one mentally precede this with the word "usually", "predominantly" or "always"?

Richard

As explained on page 5 of the Bestiary, a monster's listed alignment represent the norm for that monster—they can vary as you require them to in order to serve the needs of your campaign. Only in the case of monsters with Int scores of less than 2 (or without Int scores at all) and planar monsters like demons and azatas are alignments pretty set in stone... but even then, if you have the right reasons and desires, they can change as well.

I beg your pardon - I should have RTFMd!

Does the guideline apply to templates too? For example, although I imagine you have to be evil to become a vampire, you could change alignment to good after that and not stop being a vampire?

Richard

Paizo Employee Creative Director

richard develyn wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
richard develyn wrote:

When one reads an alignment for a creature in the bestiary, should one mentally precede this with the word "usually", "predominantly" or "always"?

Richard

As explained on page 5 of the Bestiary, a monster's listed alignment represent the norm for that monster—they can vary as you require them to in order to serve the needs of your campaign. Only in the case of monsters with Int scores of less than 2 (or without Int scores at all) and planar monsters like demons and azatas are alignments pretty set in stone... but even then, if you have the right reasons and desires, they can change as well.

I beg your pardon - I should have RTFMd!

Does the guideline apply to templates too? For example, although I imagine you have to be evil to become a vampire, you could change alignment to good after that and not stop being a vampire?

Richard

The guideline applies to all monsters.

Dark Archive

Thank you once again.

One further question regarding alignment - I notice that certain classes with an alignment pre-requisite are quite specific about what happens should you change alignment. In others, e.g. Crimson Assassin, nothing is said.

What is the default effect of changing to an incompatible alignment w.r.t. classes that have an alignment pre-requisite?

Richard


What is your favorite... (this will be mine in each category)

1) Race? (Kobold)

2) Class? (Summoner)

3) Arcane spell? (Sunburst)

4) Divine spell? (Miracle)

5) Iconic character? (Valeros)

6) Monster? (Hekatonkheires)

7) Melee weapon? (Warhammer)

8) Ranged weapon? (Buckler pistol)

9) Trait? (Adopted)

10) God? (Cayden Cailean)

Dark Archive

Do you believe that the core Paizo products should stick to the line that the PCs adversaries should always be, if not necessarily monsters, monstrous? In other words, possibly in order to ensure that the game can never be seen as somehow encouraging homicide, that the things that PCs kill should never be recognisable as human beings, or able to be sympathised with as human beings.

And do you believe, therefore, that any variation on this particular line, however large or small, has to come down to the 3pps?

Richard

Dark Archive

Just to clarify - I mean *real* human beings as opposed to caricatures or very two dimensional representations.

Richard


Are there any Draconic sorcerers descended from Imperial dragons? Any advice on modifying the existing bloodline to accomodate such a thing?

Sczarni

James, every once in a while my PCs feel the need to spend money for stuff that doesn't really have a fixed price: bribing a guard, for example, or paying an informant for information. The debate always seems to come up: how much money would seem reasonable for them to demand or offer?

Obviously, there can't be a one-size-fits-all rate, so what would help me most is to have a sort of general sense of how much a Gold Piece is worth compared to real-world cash.

So basically the question is: Is 1 GP more like $1.00, $10.00, or $50.00 to an average Golarion-dweller?

Or if it varies by area, how about to an average resident of Absalom?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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richard develyn wrote:

Thank you once again.

One further question regarding alignment - I notice that certain classes with an alignment pre-requisite are quite specific about what happens should you change alignment. In others, e.g. Crimson Assassin, nothing is said.

What is the default effect of changing to an incompatible alignment w.r.t. classes that have an alignment pre-requisite?

Richard

If by "Crimson Assassin" you mean "Red Mantis Assassin," you're right. You pretty much only need to be lawful evil to take class levels in this prestige class. If you stop being lawful evil, you can no longer gain levels in the class, but you retain full use of all your red mantis prestige class abilities up to that point, even if you become chaotic good. (In fact, I did this entirely on purpose, because I've got a story about this exact thing happening brewing in my brain that, some day, I hope to present to James Sutter and get to write up as a novel for the Pathfinder Tales line.)

The default effect of changing to an incompatible alignment is that you can't progress further in that class, but you get to keep what you've earned so far.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Voyd211 wrote:

What is your favorite... (this will be mine in each category)

1) Race? (Kobold)

2) Class? (Summoner)

3) Arcane spell? (Sunburst)

4) Divine spell? (Miracle)

5) Iconic character? (Valeros)

6) Monster? (Hekatonkheires)

7) Melee weapon? (Warhammer)

8) Ranged weapon? (Buckler pistol)

9) Trait? (Adopted)

10) God? (Cayden Cailean)

1) Human, Aasimar, Elf, and Tiefling are pretty much tied.

2) Bard

3) Simulacrum

4) Blade barrier

5) Merisiel

6) Succubus

7) Rapier

8) Starknife

9) Don't have one.

10) Desna


So, looking at D&DWTF! on SomethingAwful, it got me to thinking. What steps do you guys take do you take to avoid having lamesauce Bestiaries like previous editions so often had.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

6 people marked this as a favorite.
richard develyn wrote:

Do you believe that the core Paizo products should stick to the line that the PCs adversaries should always be, if not necessarily monsters, monstrous? In other words, possibly in order to ensure that the game can never be seen as somehow encouraging homicide, that the things that PCs kill should never be recognisable as human beings, or able to be sympathised with as human beings.

And do you believe, therefore, that any variation on this particular line, however large or small, has to come down to the 3pps?

Richard

Nope. PC adversaries should be varied. That means some should be monsters, while others should be humans. And in some cases, the monsters should be sympathetic, and the humans not.

The game is fundamentally about violence. The core of the game is "kill things and take their stuff to get more powerful." This is not a new game concept—it's pretty much been the way fantasy RPGs have existed from the start, and it's a core concept in many incredibly popular video games as well.

Frankly, I think that the whole idea that "entertainment about violence causes humans to become violent" is a load of bunk and nonsense, and that it's a defense used often by politicians and reporters eager to get attention by crusading while not having the bravery to admit the real problem lies in basic human nature.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

TerminalArtiste wrote:

Are there any Draconic sorcerers descended from Imperial dragons? Any advice on modifying the existing bloodline to accomodate such a thing?

Yes, there are. I thought we'd actually published such guidelines somewhere in some book, in fact, but I can't remember exactly where. I'm sure if we did, someone will let us know soon.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Trinite wrote:

James, every once in a while my PCs feel the need to spend money for stuff that doesn't really have a fixed price: bribing a guard, for example, or paying an informant for information. The debate always seems to come up: how much money would seem reasonable for them to demand or offer?

Obviously, there can't be a one-size-fits-all rate, so what would help me most is to have a sort of general sense of how much a Gold Piece is worth compared to real-world cash.

So basically the question is: Is 1 GP more like $1.00, $10.00, or $50.00 to an average Golarion-dweller?

Or if it varies by area, how about to an average resident of Absalom?

This is a great example of a point where the GM needs to be able to think fast on his feet and make his own decisions.

My rule of thumb is that I generally treat coins like this:

1 cp = a dime

1 sp = a dollar

1 gp = a ten dollar bill

1 pp = a hundred dollar bill

It will vary. A guard in Absalom or Katapesh might turn up his nose at a gp, but a guard in Falcon's Hollow or Ravenmoor might salivate at the sight of a single copper coin.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Albatoonoe wrote:
So, looking at D&DWTF! on SomethingAwful, it got me to thinking. What steps do you guys take do you take to avoid having lamesauce Bestiaries like previous editions so often had.

Using people in the "what monsters do we publish" stage of the process who grew up playing the game and have decades of experience knowing what monsters are cool and what ones are lame, bolstered by that magic combination of good taste, great imagination, knowledge of real world myth cycles, a lack of hubris that makes us think we can do better inventing all new monsters when the world itself has been inventing monsters for thousands of years and in so doing has allowed the passage of time to self-filter the ones worth remembering and serving as inspiration, and love of all things monstrous is how we keep Bestiaries awesome.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Using people in the "what monsters do we publish" stage of the process who grew up playing the game and have decades of experience knowing what monsters are cool and what ones are lame, bolstered by that magic combination of good taste, great imagination, knowledge of real world myth cycles, a lack of hubris that makes us think we can do better inventing all new monsters when the world itself has been inventing monsters for thousands of years and in so doing has allowed the passage of time to self-filter the ones worth remembering and serving as inspiration, and love of all things monstrous is how we keep Bestiaries awesome.

How do you procure good taste?

Also, What's your favorite real world myth cycle for bestiary monsters?


Any chance we're going to get more information on Tolc any time soon?

Could we also get to see more Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good or Lawful Good deities with the Fire and/or Trickery domains?


Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
richard develyn wrote:

Thank you once again.

One further question regarding alignment - I notice that certain classes with an alignment pre-requisite are quite specific about what happens should you change alignment. In others, e.g. Crimson Assassin, nothing is said.

What is the default effect of changing to an incompatible alignment w.r.t. classes that have an alignment pre-requisite?

Richard

If by "Crimson Assassin" you mean "Red Mantis Assassin," you're right. You pretty much only need to be lawful evil to take class levels in this prestige class. If you stop being lawful evil, you can no longer gain levels in the class, but you retain full use of all your red mantis prestige class abilities up to that point, even if you become chaotic good. (In fact, I did this entirely on purpose, because I've got a story about this exact thing happening brewing in my brain that, some day, I hope to present to James Sutter and get to write up as a novel for the Pathfinder Tales line.)

The default effect of changing to an incompatible alignment is that you can't progress further in that class, but you get to keep what you've earned so far.

As a huge fan of the Pathfinder Tales line, I have to say I'm pretty excited about a JJ Tales book. Do you think you would write it, or just do a story outline and then get a more established novel writer to fill it in. Also, are there any plans to increase the release rate for PFT? I know writing a novel takes some time, but I can't get enough of them.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Stratagemini wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Using people in the "what monsters do we publish" stage of the process who grew up playing the game and have decades of experience knowing what monsters are cool and what ones are lame, bolstered by that magic combination of good taste, great imagination, knowledge of real world myth cycles, a lack of hubris that makes us think we can do better inventing all new monsters when the world itself has been inventing monsters for thousands of years and in so doing has allowed the passage of time to self-filter the ones worth remembering and serving as inspiration, and love of all things monstrous is how we keep Bestiaries awesome.

How do you procure good taste?

Also, What's your favorite real world myth cycle for bestiary monsters?

You procure good taste by hiring and promoting employees who display it.

My favorite real world myth cycle for Bestairy monsters is the Lovecraft myth cycle.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Icyshadow wrote:

Any chance we're going to get more information on Tolc any time soon?

Could we also get to see more Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good or Lawful Good deities with the Fire and/or Trickery domains?

I suspect there might be more info in the upcoming Empyreal Lord book.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

j b 200 wrote:
As a huge fan of the Pathfinder Tales line, I have to say I'm pretty excited about a JJ Tales book. Do you think you would write it, or just do a story outline and then get a more established novel writer to fill it in. Also, are there any plans to increase the release rate for PFT? I know writing a novel takes some time, but I can't get enough of them.

I would absolutely be the one to write it. I've always loved writing fiction, and while I enjoy writing game material a lot... writing fiction actually remains my first true love for writing. Makes sense when you learn that my favorite thing to write for RPGs are adventures, which is the closest thing RPG design has to actual story writing.

The tricky part is getting me some time to actually write fiction. I've got part 1 of a four part Webfiction story done... but I keep getting wrangled into/volunteering for other Paizo projects. I'm currently hoping that once I've got my current freelance list done that I'll be able to shift over to working on the web fiction, and if Sutter likes that, the next step is seeing if he wants to let me try writing a novel.

No plans at this point to increase the release rate for the Tales.

Grand Lodge

How tall is Amiri?

How much does she way?

What is her "official" Hair, Eyes, and Skin color?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

blackbloodtroll wrote:

How tall is Amiri?

How much does she way?

What is her "official" Hair, Eyes, and Skin color?

She's about 6 feet tall.

You're lucky you mispelled "weigh" because that's the only way you can survive that question without her crushing you.

Her "official" hair, eye, and skin color are what you see in the art of her. Aka: Black, brown, and pink.

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