Creative Director
|
Tell me the ads/disads. Seriously. I live in SoCal and while I'm currently considering Canada, my spouse has convinced me to look a little more south and at Oregon and Washington to move in the next few years.
Your loss! The Pacific Northwest (which to me INCLUDES Northern California; its weather is not all that different from Seattle) is the best place in the world! (RAH RAH RAH!!)
Advantages: It rarely gets too hot, and almost NEVER goes above 100. It's beautiful; the color green is never far away. The air is clean and the view is incredible on a clear day. There's seasonal shifts between the years, and in the summer the sun doesn't go down until like 9:00 or later (likewise, the sun goes down at 4:00 in the winter, so whichever you are, a day or a night person, half the year you're stoked!). It rains a lot, which if you like rain is good. It's very rarely grossly humid/hot like the midwest gets in the summer. There's more wildlife.
Disadvantages: Sometimes snows in the winter, which combined with the numerous hills in the region means that it doesn't take much snow at all to turn every road into a rollercosater. But if you like snow, that's an advantage.
You forgot to mention 'good looking' :)
As one reptile to another, you show impeccably good taste.
|
looking at haunts, why is it possible to make haunts that give +2 to a stat (like a bear strength haunt) or similar? is there a way to make this creepy and more haunt like?Because it's better to let rules like that be open for creativity rather than make them unnecessarily restrictive. And because I trust that all GMs who wish to make haunts for their game understand that there's more to making a memorable haunt than just math. Like ANY new element in the game, there's art involved as well. A haunt that just gives +2 Strength or does any other benevolent effect isn't very scary, and thus isn't really a haunt EVEN if it otherwise follows the haunt-building rules.
Won't be any of those showing up in print in Paizo products, in any event. Haunts are scary and make things hurt.
i'm guessing we'll see a CR4 cloudkill haunt any moment now....
on a completely unrelated note, how many spells can a scroll have?
looking at haunts, why is it possible to make haunts that give +2 to a stat (like a bear strength haunt) or similar? is there a way to make this creepy and more haunt like?Because it's better to let rules like that be open for creativity rather than make them unnecessarily restrictive. And because I trust that all GMs who wish to make haunts for their game understand that there's more to making a memorable haunt than just math. Like ANY new element in the game, there's art involved as well. A haunt that just gives +2 Strength or does any other benevolent effect isn't very scary, and thus isn't really a haunt EVEN if it otherwise follows the haunt-building rules.
Won't be any of those showing up in print in Paizo products, in any event. Haunts are scary and make things hurt.
I think you could do a really cool haunt where it make you think your friends are out to kill you and then casts bull strength on you.
I think you could do a really cool haunt where it make you think your friends are out to kill you and then casts bull strength on you.
Or that increases your wisdom enough to see that horrible, unknowable thing that no one else can see...
James,
I am working on balancing some homebrew feats for a regular weekly game. Is there a "sweet spot" in the power level for a feat? It seems most give aprox. a +1 bonus. ie. weapon focus +1 to attack, fleet +5 movement, luck of heros +1 to all saves. Is this accurate or am I making stuff fit that doesn't really?
Thanks!
|
Creative Director
|
looking at haunts, why is it possible to make haunts that give +2 to a stat (like a bear strength haunt) or similar? is there a way to make this creepy and more haunt like?Because it's better to let rules like that be open for creativity rather than make them unnecessarily restrictive. And because I trust that all GMs who wish to make haunts for their game understand that there's more to making a memorable haunt than just math. Like ANY new element in the game, there's art involved as well. A haunt that just gives +2 Strength or does any other benevolent effect isn't very scary, and thus isn't really a haunt EVEN if it otherwise follows the haunt-building rules.
Won't be any of those showing up in print in Paizo products, in any event. Haunts are scary and make things hurt.
i'm guessing we'll see a CR4 cloudkill haunt any moment now....
on a completely unrelated note, how many spells can a scroll have?
Cloudkill's one of those spells that doesn't scale down well. We won't be publishing a CR 4 cloudkill haunt, in other words.
As for scrolls; a single scroll's maximum number of spells is up to the GM. It doesn't really matter, since the price is per spell, not per sheet.
|
Creative Director
|
James,
I am working on balancing some homebrew feats for a regular weekly game. Is there a "sweet spot" in the power level for a feat? It seems most give aprox. a +1 bonus. ie. weapon focus +1 to attack, fleet +5 movement, luck of heros +1 to all saves. Is this accurate or am I making stuff fit that doesn't really?
Thanks!
Nope; there's no sweet spots for feats, really. Designing feats is tricky, because a well-designed feat is one that is attractive at low, mid, and high level. And designing more powerful feats for high level that are meant to be earned at the end of a chain of feats (such as Whirlwind Attack) are tricky as well.
The best way to build a feat is to just do it, then compare it to feats in the core book to fine-tune it, then try it out. One good way to compare it is to look at similar feats and then ask yourself: "Is one of these so obviously better than the other that I'd never pick the lesser one?"
In the end, though, if you're designing feats for your home game, you don't have to worry too much about power as long as you let the PCs know ahead of time that this feat is subject to change, and allow the PCs to rebuild characters as necessary to either try out the feat or to rebuild without the feat if you change it and they no longer want it.
|
Creative Director
|
Hey James,
First time posting on these boards but I've figured I've been lurking in this tread long enough.
You mentioned, and I've noticed, that Paizo has been hiring alot of new people. Is there any possible niches for someone with a BS in Mathematics to fill in Paizo? What if that person also had an MBA?
Also I just wanted to say thanks for Serpents Skull me and my players are loving it right now!
First off, welcome to non-lurking mode!
The biggest place we would need someone with strong math skills would be as a designer, developer, or editor—someone who can handle the complex math that goes into stat blocks or rules design. Unfortunately, writing skill and design skill are more important in that equation, rendering the math skillset to a secondary role. If this person who is well-trained at mathematics is equally or greater skilled at writing or rules design, he'd probably do a great job in one of those positions, but without strong writing skills it's unlikely they'd get hired.
And good to hear you're having a good time with Serpent's Skull!
|
|
Cloudkill's one of those spells that doesn't scale down well. We won't be publishing a CR 4 cloudkill haunt, in other words.
As for scrolls; a single scroll's maximum number of spells is up to the GM. It doesn't really matter, since the price is per spell, not per sheet.
really? i thought it was along the lines of the things you like to throw at players...
Any thought on the humboldt squid, should we be worried or is it all just hype?Have they learned to fly or walk already?
Not yet but they do seem to die just a little to easily out of water, and they attack there own kind when they have cameras on, almost like they are trying to hide stuff from us.
They have over turned a small fishing boat but that was mustly self defense
|
Creative Director
|
Cloudkill's one of those spells that doesn't scale down well. We won't be publishing a CR 4 cloudkill haunt, in other words.
As for scrolls; a single scroll's maximum number of spells is up to the GM. It doesn't really matter, since the price is per spell, not per sheet.
really? i thought it was along the lines of the things you like to throw at players...
I like throwing scary and horrific traps and monsters at PCs, yeah... but not instant-kill "ha ha I win" stunts, which is what cloudkill is when you use it against a 4th (or lower) level party.
|
|
I like throwing scary and horrific traps and monsters at PCs, yeah... but not instant-kill "ha ha I win" stunts, which is what cloudkill is when you use it against a 4th (or lower) level party.Cloudkill's one of those spells that doesn't scale down well. We won't be publishing a CR 4 cloudkill haunt, in other words.
As for scrolls; a single scroll's maximum number of spells is up to the GM. It doesn't really matter, since the price is per spell, not per sheet.
really? i thought it was along the lines of the things you like to throw at players...
yea i thought that too...
and is it true you were actually..."working"?
If someone were to make a physical, real-world version of a fairly Pathfinder specific creature, and sent a copy of that item to the Paizo HQ, how would Paizo react?
Let's say, for this case, someone made a plush copy of the sorceress.
|
Creative Director
|
If there were a Deity of Dinosaurs, what domains would you give them? Why?
He'd/she'd get five domains because a dinosaur god would be a full-on god, not a demigod. The dinosaur god would be Chaotic Neutral because dinosaurs are neither good nor evil, but they are big and scary and thus embody the chaotic aspect of destructive/predatory natural world (remember that dinosaurs, having an Int of 2, wouldn't be worshping this god).
The dinosaur deity's domains would be:
Animal (because that's what dinosaurs are)
Chaos (because of the chaotic element to the deity's alignment)
Destruction (because dinosaurs are pretty bad-ass)
Earth (because dinosaurs are terrestrial creatures, and because fossils are from the earth)
Strength (because dinosaurs are big and strong)
Although substituting the non-core (but core for Golarion) domain of Scalykind for Earth is a good choice.
|
Creative Director
|
If someone were to make a physical, real-world version of a fairly Pathfinder specific creature, and sent a copy of that item to the Paizo HQ, how would Paizo react?
Let's say, for this case, someone made a plush copy of the sorceress.
Not sure about Paizo, but I would react with delight and glee and pride.
Not sure about Paizo, but I would react with delight and glee and pride.If someone were to make a physical, real-world version of a fairly Pathfinder specific creature, and sent a copy of that item to the Paizo HQ, how would Paizo react?
Let's say, for this case, someone made a plush copy of the sorceress.
Hypothetically speaking, would such a thing fall under the same rules as the mini-story mentioned elsewhere? Where as long as you don't sell it, it falls under fair use?
|
Creative Director
|
Hypothetically speaking, would such a thing fall under the same rules as the mini-story mentioned elsewhere? Where as long as you don't sell it, it falls under fair use?Not sure about Paizo, but I would react with delight and glee and pride.If someone were to make a physical, real-world version of a fairly Pathfinder specific creature, and sent a copy of that item to the Paizo HQ, how would Paizo react?
Let's say, for this case, someone made a plush copy of the sorceress.
The Community Use Policy would be where to look, but I suspect that yes, it'd be fine as long as you're not making money off it and you gave clear credit where appropriate to where the character came from.
|
Creative Director
|
Hello James,
Trying to make a puppet using character out of my bard. Plan is to buy a medium sized puppet or make one then cast silent image of myself on the puppet make it permanent and then while adventuring use spell enter image in order to give my guy a chance to run away if things get to bad. If the puppet gets destroyed my consciousness would go back to my body which I think I was planning on having the puppet carry on its back (not sure about that yet)and I would take off to live another day.
Problem is I cant find anything to help me purchase a puppet or make one. Nor could i think of how the stats and normal abilities would work while my consciousness is in the puppet.
Do these rules exist and is my plan possible or just a dream?
Thank you for your time.
This is a relatively unusual character build, and one that normally you probably shouldn't be able to do at low level. I mean, the baseline spell for transferring your soul to control another creature spell is magic jar, and that's 5th level.
The soulbound doll from Pathfinder #7 (and the soon-to-release Bestiary 2) is a much more permanent way to achieve this type of character, I guess.
In the end, it's so unusual a character concept that, no, there's not a set of rules in place to play such a character, really. You'll have to work things out with your GM.
What's the worst gaming experience you've had at the table, as DM and then as a PC. Doesn't have to involve your PC, just a game where you were playin
Worst experience in a non-table top format(like video games)
|
|
If there were a Deity of Dinosaurs, what domains would you give them? Why?He'd/she'd get five domains because a dinosaur god would be a full-on god, not a demigod. The dinosaur god would be Chaotic Neutral because dinosaurs are neither good nor evil, but they are big and scary and thus embody the chaotic aspect of destructive/predatory natural world (remember that dinosaurs, having an Int of 2, wouldn't be worshping this god).
The dinosaur deity's domains would be:
Animal (because that's what dinosaurs are)
Chaos (because of the chaotic element to the deity's alignment)
Destruction (because dinosaurs are pretty bad-ass)
Earth (because dinosaurs are terrestrial creatures, and because fossils are from the earth)
Strength (because dinosaurs are big and strong)Although substituting the non-core (but core for Golarion) domain of Scalykind for Earth is a good choice.
Well played, Mr. Jacobs. I was, until now, unaware that demigods got 4 domains and gods got 5. This ... complicates things, as I have written my homebrew pantheon up with all gods having just 4.
Nonetheless, that exactly answers what I needed answered and I thank you.
That said, what would _you_ name such a deity?
If its a putting in your two cents, but a penny for your thoughts, where does the other penny go??
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
|
If its a putting in your two cents, but a penny for your thoughts, where does the other penny go??
This is all about perceived value. When you "put your 2 cents in", that just means you find your thoughts worth twice as much as other people's thoughts, since you're only willing to pay them a penny for their thoughts.
It might seem a strange question, but it is all fairly meant, so here goes: If James Jacobs could answer any question put to him, what would James Jacobs then ask himself? Hmmm, I should stretch that it should be "answer to satisfaction".
|
Creative Director
|
What's the worst gaming experience you've had at the table, as DM and then as a PC. Doesn't have to involve your PC, just a game where you were playin
Worst experience in a non-table top format(like video games)
Hmmm...
Worst gaming experience I've had as a GM: When one of the players in the group tormented another player in-game so much and so relentlessly that the tormented player broke down in tears and I had to fix things.
Worst gaming experience I've had as a Player: When my game group back in high school got caught drinking Fosters and other flavors of beer by my dad. Bad news!!!
Worst experience in a non-table top format: Tie between King's Quest V (where I couldn't finish the game because I neglected to talk to one character at the very start) and Starcraft (which was so annoying that it cured me of any interest in the real-time strategy genre).
|
Creative Director
|
Well played, Mr. Jacobs. I was, until now, unaware that demigods got 4 domains and gods got 5. This ... complicates things, as I have written my homebrew pantheon up with all gods having just 4.
Nonetheless, that exactly answers what I needed answered and I thank you.
That said, what would _you_ name such a deity?
The four versus five domain difference is really the ONLY way in Golarion to tell a demigod apart from a deity for the most part. You don't have to follow this tactic in your homebrew though at all; it's certainly not an overall rule. It's just what I decided to go with in Golarion as a reason to limit domain selections for deities to a manageable number.
As for what I'd name this deity... good question! I suspect I'd agonize about it for a lot of hours.
|
Creative Director
|
It might seem a strange question, but it is all fairly meant, so here goes: If James Jacobs could answer any question put to him, what would James Jacobs then ask himself? Hmmm, I should stretch that it should be "answer to satisfaction".
Assuming it would be an honest question that I SHOULD know the answer to but don't, there's plenty of nominations. Three that immediately come to mind:
"Will Paizo ever publish a post-apocalyptic RPG?"
"If it snows, will living only a minute away from work make me actually no longer hate snow?"
"What's the best way to make sure that a cat doesn't scratch up a new couch without resorting to declawing?"
"Will Paizo ever publish a post-apocalyptic RPG?"
I take it then that this is either something you look forward to or dread? If the former, can you name me one post apocalyptic rpg you like, and since you mentioned movies before, three good movies you'd recommend from the same category?
|
Creative Director
|
I take it then that this is either something you look forward to or dread? If the former, can you name me one post apocalyptic rpg you like, and since you mentioned movies before, three good movies you'd recommend from the same category?"Will Paizo ever publish a post-apocalyptic RPG?"
It's something I look forward to. It's actually something that I've already written about 90,000 words for, and have been playtesting on and off for nearly a decade.
Favorite post-apocalyptic tabletop RPG (not counting "Unspeakable Futures" which is my homebrew game mentioned above): Gamma World
Three good post-apocalyptic movies:
The Road Warrior
28 Days Later
The Road
Bonus Film: Children of Men
What changes would you make to Golarion if a period of 20,000 years passed? Summarization or short answer is perfectly fine.
I've written over 7,000 words on my homebrew's modernization project and I'm just curious for input.
That's kickass, Mikhaila.
|
Creative Director
|
What changes would you make to Golarion if a period of 20,000 years passed? Summarization or short answer is perfectly fine.
I've written over 7,000 words on my homebrew's modernization project and I'm just curious for input.
I would change things enough that it would no longer look like Golarion. It'd be 100% a new campaign setting.
|
Creative Director
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
In your Unspeakable Future are there non-human PC races? What about mutants as PCs?
In Unspeakable Futures, the race choices are:
Human
Android
Deep one hybrid
Half ghoul
Troglodyte (cave man, basically; not a stinky lizard dude)
Serpentfolk
Fosterling (this one's basically a mutant, but one that's caused by eldritch Lovecraftian magic, not radiation)
|
Creative Director
|
If you were the DM in the Serpents Skull AP and you had a player that wanted to play a necromancer so you had them take the undead bloodline and make a sorcerer, how would you give them more of a necromancer feel at early levels(1-4) before animate dead is available?
I wouldn't make any changes at all. Having to wait until you can cast animate dead as a sorcerer or wizard is part of what being a necromancer is all about.