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Source: Orcs of Golarion
Race Trait
Dirty Fighter: You were raised to
fight with every dirty trick in the
book. You receive a +3 trait bonus on
all attempts to feint in combat using
your Bluff skill.
Hi James,
Can one apply the trait above to creating a diversion to hide? In 3.5, the "Creating a Diversion to Hide" use of Bluff was detailed in the Bluff description. In PF, it is only mentioned under Stealth. I think because of this, there are exactly zippo traits related to creating a diversion to hide, as it's easy to overlook.
Thanks!
I think that having a method to add weapon special qualities to weapons that don't normally have the quality is an interesting idea... it's certainly something that could be a cool minor magic addition. It's also an interesting idea for a feat or class ability. I'm kinda not thinking that it's a good mundane addition to the weapons though, since that erodes a basic weapon's "niche."Question: What do you think of a system that allows a crafter to apply certain weapon special qualities that make sense to weapons, such as paying extra gold to apply the brace quality to a weapon that normally doesn't possess it?
I always thought it was weird that certain weapons which can clearly be finessable or braced or used as trip weapons in real life don't have the capacity to be granted those qualities in the game, even at a cost.
I was thinking of something along the lines of the new Dragoncraft feat from the Dragonslayer's Handbook, most notably the "dragonhide grip" that allows you to to add the grip to a weapon in order to gain a +2 bonus to your CMD against disarm attempts made to disarm you of that weapon.
Not sure who designed that feat, by the way, but its an absolutely awesome idea! I was looking through the AD&D Bestiary for the first time yesterday (a friend of mine finally unpacked his old books after moving) and was pleasantly surprised regarding how many monsters offered the ability to take parts of their body for treasure. One of the ones I remember liking was the bulette's ability to remove its dorsal fin, causing it to act as a +1 shield or something similar.
Speaking of the AD&D Bestiary, Zaratan. AD&D's giant island turtle. My friends and I absolutely love them, so here are two Zaratan-related questions.
1) Are there any Zaratan (or giant island-turtles of a different name) on Golarion?
2) Is the Zaratan a monster we will ever see in print? Is it a solid choice for a Kaiju, or are they just too big to ever warrant stats for?
Is the Gancanagh from Irish mythology on the to-do list or on the never-to-do-list?
Can I still have hope to see it one day in a bestiary/AP Bestiary/Other Bestiary from paizo or should I lose my hope for it ever appearing in a Paizo product?
Creative Director
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I know I'm in kind of an odd rules area as I'm mixing templates, but I have a question regardless.
The Undead Lord Template (Tomb of Horrors Complete) and the Graveknight template (Bestiary 3) are what I'm using. The Undead Lord gives the Create Spawn ability and spawns undead of the same type as the base creature. The base creature, in this case, is a Graveknight. Does that mean the Undead Lord Graveknight can create other Graveknights, or should I swap that out for a different type of undead?
If you recommend swapping them out, do you think I should use Skeletal Champions/Zombie Lords as alternatives? Or just go with regular Skeletons/Zombies?
Well... since you're combining two templates from two different companies (and thus two different design philosophies), you are indeed going to have to make a few decisions.
Frankly, I'd say that the ability for a lich or a graveknight to create spawn is a bit weird, since the conditions for which one of these two undead arise are SO specific. Does a graveknight undead lord also spawn a suit of armor? Does a lich undead lord also spawn a phylactery?
I would say no. And I would say that an undead lord of this type would NOT spawn more of its own kind. I'd instead say that they spawn juju zombies or something like that—something that's still capable of being powerful but isn't a unique character. Or frankly, just drop the create spawn ability granted by the undead lord template entirely.
I would NOT have them spawn regular skeletons or zombies, because graveknights and liches are high CR foes, and an encounter with a high CR creature with a bunch of lower-than-CR 1 creatures is not a good encounter.
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Creative Director
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The Lunar Naga in its illustration in Bestiary 3 as well as the ones i found on the blog have a much different shape than all other naga, in that they have a humanoid (albeit still armless) torso rather than an all-snake body with only a humanoid head.
Was this intended by the design team, or did the illustrator's preference lay into that?
That was an artistic flourish that's more or less gonna stick with the lunar naga; think of it as a unique physical trait of the lunar naga, I guess. It's not one that all naga share, that's for sure.
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Creative Director
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Does Amara Li use Tien naming convention (Family name Given name)? Examples:
Iko Tsuneo
Nakayama Hayato
Hao JinOr the Western naming conventions? Examples:
Ameiko Kaijitsu (the whole Kaijitsu clan, understandable as they've settled in Sandpoint)
(inexplicably) Emperor Shigure HigashiyamaEssentially, is Amara her family name or given name?
Yup. Whether or not the Pathfinder Society folks realized it when they invented her, her first name is her family name.
And Emperor Higashiyama Shigure should indeed have his name conform to that as well; when it doesn't it's because us American designers and developers and editors made an error.
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Creative Director
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Source: Orcs of Golarion
Race Trait
Dirty Fighter: You were raised to
fight with every dirty trick in the
book. You receive a +3 trait bonus on
all attempts to feint in combat using
your Bluff skill.Hi James,
Can one apply the trait above to creating a diversion to hide? In 3.5, the "Creating a Diversion to Hide" use of Bluff was detailed in the Bluff description. In PF, it is only mentioned under Stealth. I think because of this, there are exactly zippo traits related to creating a diversion to hide, as it's easy to overlook.
Thanks!
Nope. Not unless your GM is backpedaling to 3.5 rules.
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Creative Director
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In this thread you've described the Dark Tapestry as "deep space." I know you probably can't give specifics, but generally speaking, how would the rules for adventuring in the Dark tapestry differ from plain ole' outer space? Would it be somehow more hostile than the rules described in Distant Worlds, or have some element of mental/physical warping like that encountered on Aucturn?
The rules don't change at all. The feeling does. Adventures in plain old outer space would have high-adventure themes, like you might see in Star Wars or the like. Adventures in the Dark Tapestry would have horror themes, like you see in Alien or Dead Space or Event Horizon.
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Creative Director
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1) Are there any Zaratan (or giant island-turtles of a different name) on Golarion?
2) Is the Zaratan a monster we will ever see in print? Is it a solid choice for a Kaiju, or are they just too big to ever warrant stats for?
1) Not yet, as far as I know.
2) Yup; we statted up the Aspidochelone back in Pathfinder #27; it's basically a giant whale with an island for a back. It's not a kaiju though, since despite being big, it doesn't do kaiju stuff.
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Creative Director
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Is the Gancanagh from Irish mythology on the to-do list or on the never-to-do-list?
Can I still have hope to see it one day in a bestiary/AP Bestiary/Other Bestiary from paizo or should I lose my hope for it ever appearing in a Paizo product?
Until now for me, it was on a third list: the "Never heard of it" list.
After a bit of research, I'd say it's definitely on the to-do list.
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Which human subtype would be the best substitute for a Cymric or Welsh person?
Humans don't have subtypes. Are you talking about Golarion ethnicities? If so, I'd not use a substitue; if you want a Cymric or Welsh human, just make them that. There's no game stat changes between ethnicities, so it's all flavor text anyway.
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Which human subtype would be the best substitute for a Cymric or Welsh person?Humans don't have subtypes. Are you talking about Golarion ethnicities? If so, I'd not use a substitue; if you want a Cymric or Welsh human, just make them that. There's no game stat changes between ethnicities, so it's all flavor text anyway.
James, much as I respect you, you've got this terribly wrong.
Welsh people get the [awesome] subtype
Welsh people have the following traits:
+6 to intelligence, wisdom and charisma
Charming (ex): Welsh people receive a +10 bonus to diplomacy checks against non-evil characters.
Handsome (ex): Welsh people's diplomacy bonus increases to +20 against characters who might find the Welsh person an appropriate mate.
Born with a song in your heart (ex): Welsh people receive a +6 bonus to Perform (sing), Perform (oratory) and Perform (poetry) checks and Perform (sing) is always a class skill for them.
There you go.
No need to thank me: glad I could help.
:D
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Which human subtype would be the best substitute for a Cymric or Welsh person?Humans don't have subtypes. Are you talking about Golarion ethnicities? If so, I'd not use a substitue; if you want a Cymric or Welsh human, just make them that. There's no game stat changes between ethnicities, so it's all flavor text anyway.
Yes, ethnicities is what I meant. It's not about stats at all. It's about knowing where the heck on Golarion you might be able to say a character with a name like Cuneglas ap Meurig, Lugaid Riab nDerg or Cuilén mac Ildulb came from. None of the naming conventions of the ethnicities in Humans of Golarion really cover those kinds of names. Ulfen would probably be the closest in terms of general culture (being a northerly people not influenced by Taldan/Chelaxian culture, which stands in for Rome on Golarion, the Varisians and Shoanti clearly not Celtic-like but more like the Roma people and Native Americans respectively), but their naming conventions and indeed their whole culture are too heavily influenced by the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples, the traditional enemies of the various Celtic folk in Britain after the Roman departure.
In all honesty, the traditional enemies of the various Celtic folk in Britain and Ireland has tended to be the various Celtic folk in Britain and Ireland just as much as the Anglo-Saxons or Scandinavians. ;)
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True, very true. But my issue still stands that there doesn't seem to be any place on Golarion for the player who wants a character that emulates Celtic culture and naming conventions. I know Sarkoris is sort of Celtic, but it's a Kellid homeland, and names like Barek or Dagur don't exactly evoke images of plaid-clad people with bronze short swords, ornately painted wooden shields, blue face paint and intimidatingly flowing mustaches posing heroically while bagpipes play in the background.
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Creative Director
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Yes, ethnicities is what I meant. It's not about stats at all. It's about knowing where the heck on Golarion you might be able to say a character with a name like Cuneglas ap Meurig, Lugaid Riab nDerg or Cuilén mac Ildulb came from. None of the naming conventions of the ethnicities in Humans of Golarion really cover those kinds of names. Ulfen would probably be the closest in terms of general culture (being a northerly people not influenced by Taldan/Chelaxian culture, which stands in for Rome on Golarion, the Varisians and Shoanti clearly not Celtic-like but more like the Roma people and Native Americans respectively), but their naming conventions and indeed their whole culture are too heavily influenced by the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples, the traditional enemies of the various Celtic folk in Britain after the Roman departure.Which human subtype would be the best substitute for a Cymric or Welsh person?Humans don't have subtypes. Are you talking about Golarion ethnicities? If so, I'd not use a substitue; if you want a Cymric or Welsh human, just make them that. There's no game stat changes between ethnicities, so it's all flavor text anyway.
The closest analogy would probably be Kellid, but we don't really have a full-on analog for every real-world region.
James what is your opinion about the Game of Thrones character Brienne of Tarth?
So, weapons "niche" is why some weapons that can technically do either Slashing or Piercing damages only do one type?
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Creative Director
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So, weapons "niche" is why some weapons that can technically do either Slashing or Piercing damages only do one type?
Yup. That way we make sure that each weapon does something different. If we invent a weapon called a longsword and then invent a weapon called a quillsword, and both weapons have the exact same stats, then we haven't invented a new weapon at all. But if the quillsword does somthing different, however small that difference is (such as, say, having it deal slashing AND piercing damage), it's a new weapon and thus deserves to exist as a separate rules element/option.
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The closest analogy would probably be Kellid, but we don't really have a full-on analog for every real-world region.Yes, ethnicities is what I meant. It's not about stats at all. It's about knowing where the heck on Golarion you might be able to say a character with a name like Cuneglas ap Meurig, Lugaid Riab nDerg or Cuilén mac Ildulb came from. None of the naming conventions of the ethnicities in Humans of Golarion really cover those kinds of names. Ulfen would probably be the closest in terms of general culture (being a northerly people not influenced by Taldan/Chelaxian culture, which stands in for Rome on Golarion, the Varisians and Shoanti clearly not Celtic-like but more like the Roma people and Native Americans respectively), but their naming conventions and indeed their whole culture are too heavily influenced by the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples, the traditional enemies of the various Celtic folk in Britain after the Roman departure.Which human subtype would be the best substitute for a Cymric or Welsh person?Humans don't have subtypes. Are you talking about Golarion ethnicities? If so, I'd not use a substitue; if you want a Cymric or Welsh human, just make them that. There's no game stat changes between ethnicities, so it's all flavor text anyway.
Rats. Guess that means I'll have to scuttle my Warlord Chronicles inspired character. Or just play Pendragon.
James,
If WotC offered you (free of charge!) the legal rights to 5 of their D&D characters, which ones would you pick?
I know I'm in kind of an odd rules area as I'm mixing templates, but I have a question regardless.
The Undead Lord Template (Tomb of Horrors Complete) and the Graveknight template (Bestiary 3) are what I'm using. The Undead Lord gives the Create Spawn ability and spawns undead of the same type as the base creature. The base creature, in this case, is a Graveknight. Does that mean the Undead Lord Graveknight can create other Graveknights, or should I swap that out for a different type of undead?
If you recommend swapping them out, do you think I should use Skeletal Champions/Zombie Lords as alternatives? Or just go with regular Skeletons/Zombies?
Well... since you're combining two templates from two different companies (and thus two different design philosophies), you are indeed going to have to make a few decisions.
Frankly, I'd say that the ability for a lich or a graveknight to create spawn is a bit weird, since the conditions for which one of these two undead arise are SO specific. Does a graveknight undead lord also spawn a suit of armor? Does a lich undead lord also spawn a phylactery?
I would say no. And I would say that an undead lord of this type would NOT spawn more of its own kind. I'd instead say that they spawn juju zombies or something like that—something that's still capable of being powerful but isn't a unique character. Or frankly, just drop the create spawn ability granted by the undead lord template entirely.
I would NOT have them spawn regular skeletons or zombies, because graveknights and liches are high CR foes, and an encounter with a high CR creature with a bunch of lower-than-CR 1 creatures is not a good encounter.
Thanks for the advice! I felt spawning Graveknights/Liches was way too good, glad you agree.
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Cool. Is that because Desna's one of your creations?
Also, something that crossed my mind recently. On the topic of sacrifices, there are a few gods that texts mention. Most of the evil gods, like Asmodeus, Lamashtu, Rovagug, etc, practice human sacrifice. Par for the course. What's interesting is that I think Pathfinder's one of the first settings I've read where there's actually a GOOD god that receives sacrifices: Torag. Obviously this sacrifice is of an animal, as mentioned in the article on him. I'm wondering, to any other non-evil gods accept these kinds of burnt offerings (sacrifice of things like animals or objects, rather than people), and if so, what's favored?
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Cool. Is that because Desna's one of your creations?
Also, something that crossed my mind recently. On the topic of sacrifices, there are a few gods that texts mention. Most of the evil gods, like Asmodeus, Lamashtu, Rovagug, etc, practice human sacrifice. Par for the course. What's interesting is that I think Pathfinder's one of the first settings I've read where there's actually a GOOD god that receives sacrifices: Torag. Obviously this sacrifice is of an animal, as mentioned in the article on him. I'm wondering, to any other non-evil gods accept these kinds of burnt offerings (sacrifice of things like animals or objects, rather than people), and if so, what's favored?
Yup. Desna and starknives have been in my homebrew for about 25 years or so.
As for other non-evil gods accepting sacrifices of this sort... Calistria accepts vengeance killings; Gorum accepts battle kills, and Gozreh and Nethys might just have a darker side... but none of them really accept the sacrifice of an unwilling innocent as a sacrifice. That's pretty much evil.
Are undead immune to the damage from the Vicious weapon property? I could swear, that the weapon originally did negative energy damage, which made it good for undead as it healed them.Vicious weapons add to the damage done by the base weapon; this extra damage is the type of damage caused by the base weapon. AKA the "disruptive energy" is flavor text, pretty much.
What about the recoil damage to the weilder?
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Creative Director
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What about the recoil damage to the weilder?Are undead immune to the damage from the Vicious weapon property? I could swear, that the weapon originally did negative energy damage, which made it good for undead as it healed them.Vicious weapons add to the damage done by the base weapon; this extra damage is the type of damage caused by the base weapon. AKA the "disruptive energy" is flavor text, pretty much.
That's just damage. A "hit point tax" if you will. Can't reduce it; it just does raw untyped damage.
That's just damage. A "hit point tax" if you will. Can't reduce it; it just does raw untyped damage.What about the recoil damage to the weilder?Are undead immune to the damage from the Vicious weapon property? I could swear, that the weapon originally did negative energy damage, which made it good for undead as it healed them.Vicious weapons add to the damage done by the base weapon; this extra damage is the type of damage caused by the base weapon. AKA the "disruptive energy" is flavor text, pretty much.
I thought so, just worth double-checking. If it wasn't, it could be kind of cheesy with DR or energy resistance.
Obox-ob, Demogorgon, Graz'zt, Malcanthet, and Iggwilv.
James,If WotC offered you (free of charge!) the legal rights to 5 of their D&D characters, which ones would you pick?
I thought Demogorgon was based on a real world myth like Orcus was?
I thought Demogorgon was based on a real world myth like Orcus was?Obox-ob, Demogorgon, Graz'zt, Malcanthet, and Iggwilv.
James,If WotC offered you (free of charge!) the legal rights to 5 of their D&D characters, which ones would you pick?
Not with two baboon heads, though.
Yeah, Orcus and Demogorgon, while based on real-world mythology, are heavily steeped in WotC lore. Especially Orcus, which for awhile was like the final boss in everyone's campaign where I lived.
Also, just wanted to throw out a congrats to you James Jacobs. Just watched the Know Direction Podcast and saw that your diet is working very well. Keep up the good work! I know it can be hard and frustrating to lose weight, but it's definitely making a difference and you're doing a good job at it. Keep on keeping on! :)
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Question about Skinsaw Murders:
Thanks!
Would a character with the stunned for 1 from failing a save from the Stunning Assault feat, then during the round they are stunned go unconscious from HP damage, would being healed by cure spells to the point they are awake remove/or alter the stunned condition? It seems they would stay stunned, but not sure.
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Creative Director
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I thought Demogorgon was based on a real world myth like Orcus was?Obox-ob, Demogorgon, Graz'zt, Malcanthet, and Iggwilv.
James,If WotC offered you (free of charge!) the legal rights to 5 of their D&D characters, which ones would you pick?
This is all going off memory, so I might have some of the facts not exactly right, but...
The name "Demogorgon" originated as the name of a pagan god or demon, invented by a scholar back in the 4th century or so. Since then, the name's been used in that context here and there, perhaps most famously in Milton's "Paradise Lost."
The incarnation of Demogorgon as a demon with two baboon heads and tentacles and the like was 100% invented by Gygax for D&D, and while the name is in the public domian, the depiction of him as he's always been shown in the game is 100% product identity of Wizards of the Coast.
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Yeah, Orcus and Demogorgon, while based on real-world mythology, are heavily steeped in WotC lore. Especially Orcus, which for awhile was like the final boss in everyone's campaign where I lived.
True, except that unlike Demogorgon, WotC gave Necromancer Games permission back in the day to put Orcus into the Tome of Horrors. They never got permission to put Demogorgon in there. As a result, if one uses the OGL in their product, you CAN use Orcus as a wand of death wielding fat goat-headed demon lord of undeath, as long as you cite the ToH properly.
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Also, just wanted to throw out a congrats to you James Jacobs. Just watched the Know Direction Podcast and saw that your diet is working very well. Keep up the good work! I know it can be hard and frustrating to lose weight, but it's definitely making a difference and you're doing a good job at it. Keep on keeping on! :)
Thanks!
And the diet is actually not super hard or frustrating at all. The food is actually pretty good, and while I do miss eating bread and sugar and drinking cider... feeling physically better is a good bribe to cutting those things out for a while. And once I hit the target weight, I can eat those things again (in moderation, of course), so it's not like, say, the Atkins diet or other diets that require more or less permanent lifestyle changes.
But thanks! I just hit 92 pounds lost today. I was hoping to hit 100 pounds lost by Gen Con but I'm gonna be phasing off the diet for the convention (since travel and Indy are 95% not compatible with healthy eating, and 100% not compatible with this diet) and so that means either stabilization or a little weight gain.
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Question about Skinsaw Murders:
Spoiler:Just curious about the Skinsaw Man. The text mentions that after the change from His Lordship into the Skinsaw Man, he gets a +2 profane bonus to attack rolls and damage. Does this stack with the +2 to attack rolls and damage against his obsession while wearing the Skinsaw Mask (making it a +4 against his obsession), or is the text merely calling out the +2 from the Skinsaw Mask?Thanks!
It does stack. The target of his obsession should take care.
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Since it's getting close to it's release is there any chance of there being previews of either the new stuff in the Mythic book or from Demons revisited on the Paizo blog?
There's certainly a chance, but I'm not the one who schedules the blog so I don't know what's coming up. I do know that the coming of Gen Con is likely to wreak havoc on schedules and blog posts.
Who knows, in other words? Actually... I know who knows: Jenny Bendel.
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Would a character with the stunned for 1 from failing a save from the Stunning Assault feat, then during the round they are stunned go unconscious from HP damage, would being healed by cure spells to the point they are awake remove/or alter the stunned condition? It seems they would stay stunned, but not sure.
They're stunned until the stun duration wears off or they're targeted by an effect that removes stun. So in your situation, they'd stay stunned.