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But if you had to choose, you'd probably be an RC drinker, right?I see. What about when multiple demi-gods or gods have the same portfolio, how is the conflict handled? They just represent different facets of the same ideas? Does it depend entirely on the deities' personalities and philosphies? Does another deity being in the portfolio or domain alter the reality of that kind of thing substantially? Or are portfolios simply areas of everyday life where the gods are interested but have no real influence beyond what their faithful get into there?
Apologies, by the way, if this has been asked before in this thread. Thanks as always for answering.They could represent different facets of the same ideas, or they could have faiths that end up in direct competition or alliance.
Pepsi and Coke both have the same "portfolio," yet both exist. In fact, so do all sorts of other cola type drinks. Some are more popular than others, and it's definitely a regional thing, and there's certainly folks who argue passionately about Pepsi tasting better than Coke, or those who say that RC Cola is better than them all.
Same goes for gods.
When I'm off the diet, I actually prefer Pepsi. Dr. Pepper is delightful too, though. But in fact, coffee is my preferred source of caffeine.
In Wrath of the Righteous and the Bestiary 4 you guys are stating up 6 demon lords. Now are all demon lords CR30? Also, in Second Darkness (I think book 6) you wrote an article on the demon lords with CR from 26 to 32, did those previous numbers in any way advise your write ups for Pathfinder, or is it just ignored since it's 3.5e instead of Pathfinder?
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In Wrath of the Righteous and the Bestiary 4 you guys are stating up 6 demon lords. Now are all demon lords CR30? Also, in Second Darkness (I think book 6) you wrote an article on the demon lords with CR from 26 to 32, did those previous numbers in any way advise your write ups for Pathfinder, or is it just ignored since it's 3.5e instead of Pathfinder?
Demon lords range in CR from 26 to 30.
The information in Second Darkness was for 3.5 versions, and would have matched the type of design work I'd been doing for the Demonomicon of Iggwilv articles in Dragon Magazine, which statted up several demon lords. We've since moved on to Pathfinder, obviously, and those CR ranges changed.
1) Unknown, but if you were to look through every single monster we published, you could determine which one has the highest poison save DC and/or most dangerous poison effect, and that would answer your question until we invented a new creature that's even more poisonous. Since we've published well over a thousand monsters now... I'm not gonna do this for you though! ;-)
I think this will be the answer to this question if this creature ever appears in a bestiary/product: Lavellan
Its by far the most poisonous creature in any myth/folklore story.
:-P
If a mythic individual dies and their soul is judged, would they eventually become a mythic version of the appropriate outsider or a regular version or something wholly different?
Do ghosts piss Pharasma off? It isn't always the choice of a ghost to be a ghost, so it would be a little unreasonable in that situation, but not all gods are reasonable.
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1) I'm thinking about trying out the Occultist (an updated Binder) in an upcoming game if I can convince my GM to allow it. If binding existed in Golarion, where do you think the more likely locations for knowledge on it (whether lost and forgotten or still being practiced) would be?
2) Would I be right in speculating that vanaras and vishkanyas on Golarion are mostly on Casmaron, particularly in Vudra?
3) I noticed in Kobolds of Golarion, it introduced the radiation subdomain, as well as blightburn crystal, which seem pretty distinctly designed to be radioactive, as does abysium. What are some of the more radioctive locations in Golarion, particularly where it seems some tribes of kobolds have to deal with it? Are the Mana Wastes radioactive, or are they another form of natural disaster?
1) That depends entirely on how your GM wants to handle it. If I were your GM, I would probably tie it to one of the ancient empires of the region, choosing whatever one is most appropriate for whatever location I was going to set the adventure in. If I got to choose that as well... I'd probably pick an ancient empire we've not done much with, like Jitska or Shory, since that helps explain why no one's really heard of binding before (I wouldn't pick Thassilon, for example, since we would have heard of binding before due to the fact we've done several adventure paths and stories about Thassilon).
2) Yes.
3) Blightburn crystal was first introduced many years ago in Into the Darklands. The places in Golarion where you'd find radioactive stuff would be the Darklands and Numeria, for the most part. The stuff in the Mana Wastes is more about magic than science.
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If a mythic individual dies and their soul is judged, would they eventually become a mythic version of the appropriate outsider or a regular version or something wholly different?
Depends entirely on the situation. They might go on to be something insignificant if they were failures in death, or they might go on to some sort of legendary punishment or reward.
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Given that the "big three" in the high-CR band for the Demonomicon articles were Orcus, Graz'zt and Demogorgon (CR 32, 32 and 33 respectively, I believe), in Pathfinder would you drop them all down to CR 30? Or might they drop lower to preserve the "power difference" between them (i.e. Demogorgon is just a little bit more powerful than Orcus and Graz'zt)?In Wrath of the Righteous and the Bestiary 4 you guys are stating up 6 demon lords. Now are all demon lords CR30? Also, in Second Darkness (I think book 6) you wrote an article on the demon lords with CR from 26 to 32, did those previous numbers in any way advise your write ups for Pathfinder, or is it just ignored since it's 3.5e instead of Pathfinder?Demon lords range in CR from 26 to 30.
The information in Second Darkness was for 3.5 versions, and would have matched the type of design work I'd been doing for the Demonomicon of Iggwilv articles in Dragon Magazine, which statted up several demon lords. We've since moved on to Pathfinder, obviously, and those CR ranges changed.
Orcus is a CR 30 demon lord in Pathfinder, yes.
If we were allowed to use Demogorgon and Graz'zt, I'd make Graz'zt a CR 30 demon lord as well, and I would have replaced Lamashtu with Demogorgon, making him the god of monsters and madness and demons and the like instead of Lamashtu.
I hate horror movies typically because I jump like a little school girl, but the Thing is on and I'm watching it only because you talk about it so much.
Does the Worldwound being in the north take inspiration from the arctic setting of the movie?
Is there a certain Beastie or anything in Golarion that has The Thing to thank for it's creation?
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I hate horror movies typically because I jump like a little school girl, but the Thing is on and I'm watching it only because you talk about it so much.
Does the Worldwound being in the north take inspiration from the arctic setting of the movie?
Is there a certain Beastie or anything in Golarion that has The Thing to thank for it's creation?
Nope. While the movie's my 2nd favorite or maybe even my favorite depending on the day, its inspiration is more thematic for me across all of Golarion rather than any one location.
Does that mean I can expect my chest to burst open during any given AP according to your whim?
1) I'm thinking about trying out the Occultist (an updated Binder) in an upcoming game if I can convince my GM to allow it. If binding existed in Golarion, where do you think the more likely locations for knowledge on it (whether lost and forgotten or still being practiced) would be?
2) Would I be right in speculating that vanaras and vishkanyas on Golarion are mostly on Casmaron, particularly in Vudra?
3) I noticed in Kobolds of Golarion, it introduced the radiation subdomain, as well as blightburn crystal, which seem pretty distinctly designed to be radioactive, as does abysium. What are some of the more radioctive locations in Golarion, particularly where it seems some tribes of kobolds have to deal with it? Are the Mana Wastes radioactive, or are they another form of natural disaster?
This kind of binding?
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This kind of binding?1) I'm thinking about trying out the Occultist (an updated Binder) in an upcoming game if I can convince my GM to allow it. If binding existed in Golarion, where do you think the more likely locations for knowledge on it (whether lost and forgotten or still being practiced) would be?
2) Would I be right in speculating that vanaras and vishkanyas on Golarion are mostly on Casmaron, particularly in Vudra?
3) I noticed in Kobolds of Golarion, it introduced the radiation subdomain, as well as blightburn crystal, which seem pretty distinctly designed to be radioactive, as does abysium. What are some of the more radioctive locations in Golarion, particularly where it seems some tribes of kobolds have to deal with it? Are the Mana Wastes radioactive, or are they another form of natural disaster?
Nope. The binder was a new base class that Wizards of the Coast introduced in Tome of Magic near the end of 3rd edition.
Do ghosts piss Pharasma off? It isn't always the choice of a ghost to be a ghost, so it would be a little unreasonable in that situation, but not all gods are reasonable.
JJJJJJAAAAAMMMMMMEEEESSSSS did you forget mine? D:
Also do the Mana Wastes block divine magic, or just arcane? And what about magic items?
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Do ghosts piss Pharasma off? It isn't always the choice of a ghost to be a ghost, so it would be a little unreasonable in that situation, but not all gods are reasonable.JJJJJJAAAAAMMMMMMEEEESSSSS did you forget mine? D:
Also do the Mana Wastes block divine magic, or just arcane? And what about magic items?
I didn't forget it. I didn't see it. When I'm posting answers, asking new questions can end up getting lost in the shuffle, especially in a case where my answer takes the thread onto a new page.
Pharasma isn't pissed off by ghosts as much as she is kinda sad about them. They're depressing to her, since ghosts, unlike pretty much any other undead, arise out of a person's own despair and pain and misery and all that. They're not "on purpose" undead for the most part.
She encourages her followers to seek out ghosts and put them to rest.
The mana wastes affect ALL magic, divine, arcane, or whatever.
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Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?
Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.
I was wondering is there a fey hag or could happen in future beastiary?
Hey James,
I know you are a fan of The Thing...what is your veiw on the old black and white version?
Contributor
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Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.
Or doing all of these at once! I.e., being an ascetic yogi[ni]/Taoist-type and taking cinnabar pills*. Hey! That makes sense.
*Not recommended.
Actually, James, were you referencing Taoist alchemy/practices there? Because that's how people become Xian (immortal spirits) in that religion, which is related to rebirth/transformative beliefs in India.
Nope. The binder was a new base class that Wizards of the Coast introduced in Tome of Magic near the end of 3rd edition.This kind of binding?1) I'm thinking about trying out the Occultist (an updated Binder) in an upcoming game if I can convince my GM to allow it. If binding existed in Golarion, where do you think the more likely locations for knowledge on it (whether lost and forgotten or still being practiced) would be?
2) Would I be right in speculating that vanaras and vishkanyas on Golarion are mostly on Casmaron, particularly in Vudra?
3) I noticed in Kobolds of Golarion, it introduced the radiation subdomain, as well as blightburn crystal, which seem pretty distinctly designed to be radioactive, as does abysium. What are some of the more radioctive locations in Golarion, particularly where it seems some tribes of kobolds have to deal with it? Are the Mana Wastes radioactive, or are they another form of natural disaster?
<3 !!
Even more specifically, the questioner is referring to this kind of binding. Now, I'm not James Jacobs, but I am the co-author of that product, so my recommendations should count a little bit! :-P
Pact Magic lore is all about the old world, so I would refer to a copy of Lost Kingdoms. All of the locations detailed there are excellent places to discover Pact Magic lore. For some specifics:
» Azlant, because ancient Azlant pulls from the same mythological sources as the Atlan Empire.
» Osirion, because Ancient Egypt has an awesome vibe to it and would make an excellent place for Pact Magic lore, especially considering:
» Varisia, because I personally like the occult gypsy vibe. So that's just preference. It would be less common here than anywhere else in the Inner Sea region, but because of how much of a melting pot Varisia and even Absalom are, it would make a lot of sense for secret occult communities to crop up in places like those. As for why no one has ever heard of them? By their very nature binder communities need to stay secret or they run the risk of being weeded out and destroyed by various clergies.
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Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.
This variety of reincarnation is "appears out of nowhere" like the spell, rather than the kind where you are reborn as the child of some other individual?
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Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.Or doing all of these at once! I.e., being an ascetic yogi[ni]/Taoist-type and taking cinnabar pills*. Hey! That makes sense.
*Not recommended.
Actually, James, were you referencing Taoist alchemy/practices there? Because that's how people become Xian (immortal spirits) in that religion, which is related to rebirth/transformative beliefs in India.
Not on purpose.
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This variety of reincarnation is "appears out of nowhere" like the spell, rather than the kind where you are reborn as the child of some other individual?Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.
Yup; the kind that's appears out of nowhere. Although being born to another race I suppose isn't impossible.
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Not on purpose.Dear James, I'm intrigued. The Dragon Empires Gazeterr says that Samsarans just give birth to humans. So, how Samsarans are born?Samsarans aren't born. When one dies, it reincarnates as a young samsaran. And sometimes, creatures of other races reincarnate as young samsarans. The exact conditions under which a non-samsaran can reincarnate as a samsaran are unknown, although there are plenty of theories ranging from eating a particular type of diet in the previous life to performing certain purifying deeds to following certain rituals to simply dying in the right place at the right time in the right way.Or doing all of these at once! I.e., being an ascetic yogi[ni]/Taoist-type and taking cinnabar pills*. Hey! That makes sense.
*Not recommended.
Actually, James, were you referencing Taoist alchemy/practices there? Because that's how people become Xian (immortal spirits) in that religion, which is related to rebirth/transformative beliefs in India.
Well, I enjoy the serendipity of it.
See, if we soak in enough fantasy and myth, we all become pickles... I mean, intuitive about how magic and stories work.
Thanks.
2) There's not really any such thing as a "swarm template" first of all, so the rules don't cover how to transform a creature into a swarm. The rules DO give lots of advice and suggestions on how to build new monsters, and you can use that (from Appendix 1 of the Bestiary) to create ANY type of monster, including a swarm based on an existing creature. Whether or not the resulting creature is "legal" depends if your GM says it is. If you're the GM, then it's legal by default.2) Swarm Template
Taking a medium size or larger creature and convert to a swarm. How does the size of base creature translates to the size of the "swarm size (fine, tiny, diminutive). Is this legal for PF?
There's a "Creature Swarm" template in Green Ronin's Advanced Bestiary, if you're looking for inspiration. It's a 3.5 OGL book. As Mr. Jacobs says, if you're the GM, it's legal to use!
If I wanted to write a campaign setting book, who would I send it to?
In the anime The Twelve Kingdoms, children aren't born, they grow as fruits on magical trees and are picked by their parents when they're ripe. It's not canon, but I'd like to imagine samsarans being born the same way.
Anyway, James: Have you heard of these hive-dwelling shrimp? It makes me want to create an aquatic formian variant, like the flying wasp-formians mentioned in The Great Beyond.
If I wanted to write a campaign setting book, who would I send it to?Nobody. Paizo doesn't take unsolicited work. If you wrote something and sent it to them, they'd delete it without even opening it.
D:
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If I wanted to write a campaign setting book, who would I send it to?
As mentioned, we're not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. We outline and concept all of our books, Campaign Setting books included, in house and then hire established freelancers to write them.
If you're interested in writing for Paizo, step one is to establish some published credits in the industry—doesn't have to be with Paizo, and in fact, for a new writer, it's generally easier to get established first with smaller companies.
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In the anime The Twelve Kingdoms, children aren't born, they grow as fruits on magical trees and are picked by their parents when they're ripe. It's not canon, but I'd like to imagine samsarans being born the same way.
Anyway, James: Have you heard of these hive-dwelling shrimp? It makes me want to create an aquatic formian variant, like the flying wasp-formians mentioned in The Great Beyond.
I had not!
That said... we've moved away from formians in their role of outsider that they held in previous editions of the game; they're not really a big deal as lawful neutral outsiders anymore, nor are they even outsiders anymore. We're reverting them back to their traditional and original pre-RPG role as aliens.
How do you plan to get questions for the Golarion FAQ? Are you going to cover juju mystery and non-evil undead?
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If I wanted to write a campaign setting book, who would I send it to?As mentioned, we're not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. We outline and concept all of our books, Campaign Setting books included, in house and then hire established freelancers to write them.
If you're interested in writing for Paizo, step one is to establish some published credits in the industry—doesn't have to be with Paizo, and in fact, for a new writer, it's generally easier to get established first with smaller companies.
What's the ball park of writing cred that paizo is looking for? Is it a minimum number of published works or is it something that catches the eye of one of the paizonians?
A monk can worship any lawful deity, not just Irori, is this true?
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How do you plan to get questions for the Golarion FAQ? Are you going to cover juju mystery and non-evil undead?
Whenever someone FAQ tags a question on the boards and it has something to do with Golarion or the campaign setting lines, I'll be able to see at this end. Sean will also be keeping an eye out for them. When these questions become actually "frequently asked" (or sooner if I think the question needs answers) I'll post the replies.
I'll also be using the Golarion FAQ to post some clarifications and errata type things, such as the one I already did about the spine dragon's missing fly speed, once I get more time to start entering a few of those in. Fortunately, there's not a lot of that kind of errata to post!
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What's the ball park of writing cred that paizo is looking for? Is it a minimum number of published works or is it something that catches the eye of one of the paizonians?If I wanted to write a campaign setting book, who would I send it to?As mentioned, we're not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. We outline and concept all of our books, Campaign Setting books included, in house and then hire established freelancers to write them.
If you're interested in writing for Paizo, step one is to establish some published credits in the industry—doesn't have to be with Paizo, and in fact, for a new writer, it's generally easier to get established first with smaller companies.
Once you have a published work, we know you're able to hit a deadline and work with a publisher/editor. Once you have 2 or 3, we know that first one wasn't a fluke. ;-)
But honestly, since we talk with lots of other publishers quite often, if you really blow someone away, or if your work is really excellent, even 1 credit might be enough to attract our attention.
Generally, though, once you have 3 solid credits of significant (say, 5,000 words apiece) length, that's the point where you can contact us with a list of your credits and we can talk more.
There's a few short-cuts that sometimes work as well:
1) RPG Superstar: Even getting into the top 32 is enough to attract our attention. The higher you get in the contest, the better, but even in the top 32 you've got the chops to maybe earn a few smaller assignments.
2) PFS Open Call: We're in the process of refining how the Pathfinder Society open call works, so keep an eye on that as well.
3) Conventions: Come to conventions we're at. PaizoCon and Gen Con are the big two for us, but we also show up at many others. If we're offering seminars about writing or the like, attend those—by attending one of those, you're telling us that you're serious enough about wanting to write for us that you'll travel to a convention and take time out of your schedule to listen to us talk about writing for us, and that's pretty huge. And seek us out at conventions to chat with us as well; once we put a face to the name, and assuming you impress us, that can REALLY help. Having a business card with your contact info and interests handy to give us is a good idea.
4) Internships: If you're local and can secure an internship with us, we'll generally give you some chances to write for us as well. You'll note that many of our interns have gone on to and continue to freelance for us.
5) Volunteer for PFS: Help us out at conventions to run Pathfinder Society. It's a LOT of work, but it's a great way to get to know us (see "putting a face to the name" in #3 above).
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A monk can worship any lawful deity, not just Irori, is this true?
None of a monk's powers are "granted" by a deity, first off, so a monk can pretty much worship (or not worship) whoever they want.
That said... note that monks must be lawful. And part of being lawful is adhering to the teachings of a faith you profess to worship. This means that while a monk can, say, worship a chaotic deity, he won't stay a monk long because he'll lose his lawful alignmnent, either because...
a) He's worshiping the chaotic deity well enough that by performing acts of faith he's acting chaotic, or...
b) He's not following the chaotic deity's teachings, which is itself a chaotic act.
So... most religious monks worship lawful deities. A few worship neutral deities (although those that do tend to be rigid in their faith and focus more on the non-neutral part of the deity's alignment themselves). None of them worship chaotic deities for long and stay monks.
Also, are monks celibate?
A monk can worship any lawful deity, not just Irori, is this true?
Not even restricted to lawful deities - Book 6 of Carrion Crown pits the party against, among other things, monks who worship Urgathoa.
