>>Ask *James Jacobs* ALL your Questions Here!<<

[Petrefax]

James Jacobs wrote:

Alleran wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

He was a demigod while "walking Golarion," and that's something that plenty of other demigods (Arazni, Treerazer, Lorthact, Ydersius, etc.) have done and still do.

Isn't Ydersius a full deity? I think he's referred to as a demigod a few times in the Serpent's Skull AP, but the Pathfinder Wiki mentions that he offers five or even six domains (Chaos, Evil, Nobility, Scalykind, War, and a notation of Animal as well). Or is the number of domains an error, and he's supposed to only grant four?

And is Arazni still a demigod after what she went through with Tar-Baphon and Geb? Or is she some other sort of mythic individual now in her undead state?

James Jacobs wrote:

One of them would have been the first defeat of Deskari in Sarkoris a while back, when he drove the demon lord and his armies out of Sarkoris, through Mendev, and into the big lake.

The book Liar's Blade talks about how the imprisonment of Kholerus (an extremely powerful nascent demon lord and possibly Deskari's "son") was involved with that defeat of Deskari. Assuming that the various things he did were accomplishing his Mythic "trials" to continue increasing in power, did that play a part in the overall trial?

Will anything in Wrath of the Righteous mention something about Kholerus? Or are there no plans to incorporate it?

Ydersius is a demigod. As is Arazni.

Ydersius should only grant 4 domains.

The events in Liar's Blade do not play a part in Wrath of the Righteous at all.

If Arazni is still a demigod, does she have domains and the ability to grant spells? I had thought that after her reanimation as a lich she had lost her divine powers.

[Tels]

Petrefax wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Alleran wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

He was a demigod while "walking Golarion," and that's something that plenty of other demigods (Arazni, Treerazer, Lorthact, Ydersius, etc.) have done and still do.

Isn't Ydersius a full deity? I think he's referred to as a demigod a few times in the Serpent's Skull AP, but the Pathfinder Wiki mentions that he offers five or even six domains (Chaos, Evil, Nobility, Scalykind, War, and a notation of Animal as well). Or is the number of domains an error, and he's supposed to only grant four?

And is Arazni still a demigod after what she went through with Tar-Baphon and Geb? Or is she some other sort of mythic individual now in her undead state?

James Jacobs wrote:

One of them would have been the first defeat of Deskari in Sarkoris a while back, when he drove the demon lord and his armies out of Sarkoris, through Mendev, and into the big lake.

The book Liar's Blade talks about how the imprisonment of Kholerus (an extremely powerful nascent demon lord and possibly Deskari's "son") was involved with that defeat of Deskari. Assuming that the various things he did were accomplishing his Mythic "trials" to continue increasing in power, did that play a part in the overall trial?

Will anything in Wrath of the Righteous mention something about Kholerus? Or are there no plans to incorporate it?

Ydersius is a demigod. As is Arazni.

Ydersius should only grant 4 domains.

The events in Liar's Blade do not play a part in Wrath of the Righteous at all.

If Arazni is still a demigod, does she have domains and the ability to grant spells? I had thought that after her reanimation as a lich she had lost her divine powers.

I think it had more to do with her being killed, rather than being revived as a lich.

[Filby Pott]

Why aren't hags grouped together in the Pathfinder Bestiary?

[captain yesterday]

James Jacobs wrote:

This is a case where allowing the GM to use common sense is the best option. Again... improvised weapons are not going to be used that often in the grand scheme of things. They should be less useful and less efficient than actual weapons—and that kinda also means less interesting and less exciting. And one way to do that is to spend less time talking about them.

And if you want to break a leg off a table and hit someone with it... you'd need to do a Strength check to snap the leg off. You don't sunder objects that aren't carried or attended.

And a table leg is just a club anyway.

unless its sharp on one end

[vyshan]

Petrefax wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

Alleran wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

He was a demigod while "walking Golarion," and that's something that plenty of other demigods (Arazni, Treerazer, Lorthact, Ydersius, etc.) have done and still do.

Isn't Ydersius a full deity? I think he's referred to as a demigod a few times in the Serpent's Skull AP, but the Pathfinder Wiki mentions that he offers five or even six domains (Chaos, Evil, Nobility, Scalykind, War, and a notation of Animal as well). Or is the number of domains an error, and he's supposed to only grant four?

And is Arazni still a demigod after what she went through with Tar-Baphon and Geb? Or is she some other sort of mythic individual now in her undead state?

James Jacobs wrote:

One of them would have been the first defeat of Deskari in Sarkoris a while back, when he drove the demon lord and his armies out of Sarkoris, through Mendev, and into the big lake.

The book Liar's Blade talks about how the imprisonment of Kholerus (an extremely powerful nascent demon lord and possibly Deskari's "son") was involved with that defeat of Deskari. Assuming that the various things he did were accomplishing his Mythic "trials" to continue increasing in power, did that play a part in the overall trial?

Will anything in Wrath of the Righteous mention something about Kholerus? Or are there no plans to incorporate it?

Ydersius is a demigod. As is Arazni.

Ydersius should only grant 4 domains.

The events in Liar's Blade do not play a part in Wrath of the Righteous at all.

If Arazni is still a demigod, does she have domains and the ability to grant spells? I had thought that after her reanimation as a lich she had lost her divine powers.

I can not remember where, But I swore that Arazni was viewed as a saint figure of the church of Ugathoa in Geb. So if she has any divine powers to grant it would be similar to Ugathoas IMO.

[mellowgoth]

Good Morning, James;
What is the demonym for someone from Nidal?

Good luck avoiding Con Crud....

[Zhangar]

What happens if a ghost gets sent to another plane of existence, and then gets taken out there? Does it re-corporate on the Prime? Does it start re-corporating on the new plane its stranded on?

[Alexander Augunas]

You sneaky, sneaky, creative dinosaur, you!

I'd be willing to bet a hardcover or two that the Swashbuckler (or some variant thereof) is going to be in the Advanced Class Guide.

How on earth did you perfect such a straight pokerface?

[Matrix Dragon]

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Advanced Class Guide

Wait, what? Was this just announced at gencon or something?!

[AlgaeNymph]

1. Does Force of Will come at 6th tier as table 1-1 on p.12 says, or does it come at 7th tier as the description on p.13 says?

2. Could a Thassilonian wizard take Harmonious Mage (Mythic, p.16)?

3. Could a wizard take Many Forms (Mythic, p.18) even if transmutation is a forbidden school for her?

4. Does Shifting Mastery (Mythic, p.17) benefit from Many Forms?

5. Is it possible to create more path abilities or is what's in Mythic Adventures the hard limit?

6. Some spells don't seem to have mythic variants. Was this an intentional choice or simply due to page count?

7. What would mythic variants of fabricate and polymorph any object be like?

8. Since feats and spells outside the Core Rulebook got into Mythic, will you be using them when starting the mythic Runelords?

9. How many tiers will Tar-Baphon have?

10. Any advice on making Kingmaker Mythic? When I read "when NPCs are in the presence of such greatness, they should not waste time asking for trivial favors" I was reminded of all the country bumpkins wanting the ruler to kill animals for them.

[LazarX]

James Jacobs wrote:

Kairos Dawnfury wrote:

Druid is one class that seems to be stuck in a trope for me, is that by design or am I just unimaginative?

The best way I've found to vary up how a druid works is to start with environments. Overwhelmingly, druids seem to be associated with temperate forests. This might be because of the nature of their spells and abilities... but nature exists elsewhere. Once you say your druid's from the desert, or the mountains, or the grasslands, or a swamp, or a river, or the ocean, or the glaciers, or even the city, things start to get different pretty quickly for the druid's themes and personality, I've found.

You can also do a similar thing by focusing on different aspects of nature. You can play a savage and cruel druid by being inspired by nature's arbitrary violence. You can play a beautiful and serene druid inspired by sunsets and natural landscapes of breathtaking wonder. You can play a scrappy fun-loving druid by basing his actions on things like kittens or other baby animals. You can play a mysterious druid by focusing on strange and spooky landscapes like fog-shrouded coastlines or creepy forests. And so on.

Apologies for interjection, but there's a quote from Paradigm Press' Eldest Sons which seems appropriate. "Druids tend to treat their environments and the creatures that they dwell within them like family. And as we all know, sometimes people view their families as a resource to exploit."

Perhaps the problem is that people see the Druid from a terribly stereotyped pseudo-Celtic mode, and really haven't looked at the range of characters that would make good druidic examples.

Some character examples I feel are appropriate that break that mold.

Hue The vinebender from the Swamp episode of "Avatar" the Last Airbender".

The various Shamans from Shadowrun. Eagle, Bear, and Wolf,especially as examples of how the animal totems focus individual outlook, the pride and noble bearing of Eagle, the protectiveness of Bear and the wariness of Wolf.

Looking at various Amerind lore might help break someone out of a Celtic/Tolkien lock, although I feel Rhadagast might be an example of a benign, easily misled druid.

And looking back at Celtic, while many players may see Merlin as a wizard, arguably more of his characterizations tend to show a Druid feel to them. Some of the advanced powers such as the "Many Faces" and spells like stone shape, seem to almost shout out Merlin to me.

[Rysky]

Yay! Slayer! Yay! Many, many thankies :3

Who else should I bombard with thanks and gratitude?

[zergtitan]

I have a few questions concerning the announcements of future products at this year's Gen Con.....

Sorry if I sound like the Paparazzi.

Concerning the announced AP Iron Gods.

1.will it use Mythic rules?

2.Will we be having a companion book for Androids(Player Companion) and/or Numeria(Campaign Setting)?

3. What is the base outline of the adventure path? Themes? Spoilers?

Concerning the Advanced Class Guide.

First a four part questions.
4a.What abilities will the War Priest have from the fighter and cleric classes? What will be new?

4b.What abilities will the Slayer have from the Ranger and Rogue classes? What will be new?

4c.What abilities will the Hunter have from the Druid and Ranger classes? What will be new?

4d.What abilities will the Shaman have from the Oracle and Witch classes? What will be new?

5.Will there be the possibility of Psionic classes in this book?

6.Will the Swashbuckler be in this? and if so what type of hybrid class will it be like? Fighter/Rogue?

[Cheapy]

Was Iron Gods decided, and set in stone, as a future AP before or after Rasputin Must Die?

[Joseph Blackhand]

James,

Is it possible for a cleric to worship more than one deity at a time? I'm thinking about making a cleric who worships Besmara, Calistria, and Cayden Cailean; would doing so require me to put one deity above the other two as the primary or would the concept equate more or less to the Godclaw faith the Hellknight sect uses and the Ebon Cult?

[John Kretzer]

Hey James,

So after Gencon and you get a chance to come back to this thread...are you dreading all the questions? Or are you looking forward to them?

Also Congrats on your guys win at the con.

[137ben]

James Jacobs wrote:

137ben wrote:

1. Is Monad (the Condition of All, Aeons) functionally a god?

2. Many CR 20 outsiders (pit fiend, balors, olethrodaemons) can be given extra abilities along with extra HD, to represent elite-ness in their plane...
is there something similar for Aeons?

1) It's a demigod. On par with demon lords and the like.

2) Not officially.

What domains do you think Monad would grant?

[Kieviel]

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

[137ben]

137ben wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

137ben wrote:

1. Is Monad (the Condition of All, Aeons) functionally a god?

2. Many CR 20 outsiders (pit fiend, balors, olethrodaemons) can be given extra abilities along with extra HD, to represent elite-ness in their plane...
is there something similar for Aeons?

1) It's a demigod. On par with demon lords and the like.

2) Not officially.

What domains do you think Monad would grant?

Oh, two more questions:

Would Monad have any following among Golarion mortals?
What is the relationship between Monad and Pharasma?

[Cojonuda]

Mr. Jacobs,
After what distance you start applying the Perception DC modifiers (+1/10'). Is it after 30' or 120' (I used max range increment for heavy xbow).

No luck finding a concrete answer on the message boards.

THX

[Kelsey MacAilbert]

LazarX wrote:

Apologies for interjection, but there's a quote from Paradigm Press' Eldest Sons which seems appropriate. "Druids tend to treat their environments and the creatures that they dwell within them like family. And as we all know, sometimes people view their families as a resource to exploit."

I have never read this quote or thought of Druids in this manner before. You just opened me up to a whole new realm of storytelling possibilities I had never considered, and irrevocably changed how I will see Druids from now on. Thank you for interjecting, Lazar. This information will see much use.

[Kelsey MacAilbert]

Joseph Blackhand wrote:

James,

Is it possible for a cleric to worship more than one deity at a time? I'm thinking about making a cleric who worships Besmara, Calistria, and Cayden Cailean; would doing so require me to put one deity above the other two as the primary or would the concept equate more or less to the Godclaw faith the Hellknight sect uses and the Ebon Cult?

Not James, but I do have an answer for you. Under the rules as written a Cleric doesn't have to choose a deity at character creation. I've always taken that to mean you can exemplify an ideal or set of ideals instead. It doesn't seem a stretch to make one of these Clerics who pays homage to all deities who support his or her ideals. This could easily lead to a Cleric who worships all three of those deities equally.

[Kajehase]

However, in the case of official Golarion-rules (i.e. do what you will in your home campaign, but this is how Paizo treats it), clerics in Golarion do need to choose a deity to worship.

[LazarX]

Dieties DO tend to be posessive after all. It's a lot like having a cat. They never take well to you bringing home another cat.

[137ben]

LazarX wrote:

Dieties DO tend to be posessive after all. It's a lot like having a cat. They never take well to you bringing home another cat.

Possessive...

do Golarion deities possess their followers? :O

[Kajehase]

LazarX wrote:

Dieties DO tend to be posessive after all. It's a lot like having a cat. They never take well to you bringing home another cat.

And heavens forbid that you tell Atkins you're thinking of trying a low-fat one.

[Kelsey MacAilbert]

Kajehase wrote:

However, in the case of official Golarion-rules (i.e. do what you will in your home campaign, but this is how Paizo treats it), clerics in Golarion do need to choose a deity to worship.

I'm going by what's written in the Core Rulebook.

[Joana]

Joseph Blackhand wrote:

James,

Is it possible for a cleric to worship more than one deity at a time? I'm thinking about making a cleric who worships Besmara, Calistria, and Cayden Cailean; would doing so require me to put one deity above the other two as the primary or would the concept equate more or less to the Godclaw faith the Hellknight sect uses and the Ebon Cult?

James addressed a similar question here:

James Jacobs wrote:

Chris Mortika wrote:

smashthedean wrote:

Is there any precedent for two dieties "sharing" a Cleric and both granting her divine power for spells/domains?

James Jacobs wrote:

Not that I know of. Not that I'd really want to let into print, either—keeping clerics as "one deity specialists" is really one of the core themes of the class.

The Godclaw that Hellknights worship?

Clerics of that Hellknight group still worship and gain their spells from one of the deities in the group. (The whole concept of the Godclaw is something that had a somewhat rough transition from D&D to Pathfinder, I'll grant that.)

[Generic Villain]

Why isn't Xoveron mythic? I would have thought that, of all things, a demigod would qualify as such. Is it because the mythic subtype would have made him too powerful? Also, do mythic abilities and spells treat him as non-mythic?

[Justin Franklin]

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

I am so glad I agrees to sign that NDA!!!!

[vyshan]

So people who did not go to Gencon are screwed out of knowing one of the biggest secrets of the setting?

[Serfious]

A question about the Daggermark Assassin's Guild. What faith(s) would be most common amongst them? Norgorber? If it is Norgorber, which of the four aspects would be most venerated?

[Alleran]

Kieviel wrote:

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

...

Arghbhlargh.

New gods? The Ascended? Or something else?

Will there eventually be a recording of the seminar?

Will Mythic Realms have any more clues?

[Thomas LeBlanc]

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

Yeah, I can't wait to see how they acquired the power since the "rock" is out of the picture...

[Rysky]

Where do I find me one of those NDAs ?

[Joseph Blackhand]

Joana wrote:

here:

Much appreciated =3

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

Is this something that ACTUALLY happened, or are you just trolling the thread? Because if the former is true then I'm going to become even more frustrated in my attempts to completely understand the canon of the setting.

[Goblin Bait]

In related news, I have a bridge for sale...

[Tels]

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

Is this something that ACTUALLY happened, or are you just trolling the thread? Because if the former is true then I'm going to become even more frustrated in my attempts to completely understand the canon of the setting.

I have to agree. I live in Alaska and it's frightfully expensive to fly down to the states for any reason. Attending GenCon while attending college is simply not feasible for me for quite possibly, a few years, especially if I keep on buying all the Paizo products I do.

That fact that people who can't afford trips to GenCon each year are being gipped out of some the best secrets of Golarion is really kind of BS. If it were something like an early reveal for those people, I don't mind that, but James has stated on a number of occasions that Paizo doesn't have any intention of revealing how Aroden died as some secrets should remain secrets.

So I'm hoping it was just a troll post as well.

[Icyshadow]

Tels wrote:

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

Is this something that ACTUALLY happened, or are you just trolling the thread? Because if the former is true then I'm going to become even more frustrated in my attempts to completely understand the canon of the setting.

I have to agree. I live in Alaska and it's frightfully expensive to fly down to the states for any reason. Attending GenCon while attending college is simply not feasible for me for quite possibly, a few years, especially if I keep on buying all the Paizo products I do.

That fact that people who can't afford trips to GenCon each year are being gipped out of some the best secrets of Golarion is really kind of BS. If it were something like an early reveal for those people, I don't mind that, but James has stated on a number of occasions that Paizo doesn't have any intention of revealing how Aroden died as some secrets should remain secrets.

So I'm hoping it was just a troll post as well.

Not to mention people who don't even live in the US, and have a very limited amount of money which makes visiting impossible.

[Ral' Yareth]

Dudes, I am a 100% sure this is trolling.
=)

[YuenglingDragon]

Hope you enjoyed GenCon!

Raise the Dead (Su): As a standard action, you can summon a single skeleton or zombie to serve you. The undead creature has a number of Hit Dice equal to your oracle level. It remains for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier. At 7th level, you can summon a bloody skeleton or fast zombie. At 15th level, you can summon an advanced skeleton or zombie. You can use this ability once per day plus one additional time per day at 10th level.

How is this supposed to work? Does it make a humanoid zombie with advanced HD? Can you use it on a dead body of something else?

[captain yesterday]

personally i dont care how Aroden died, he's dead and not coming back. what is trolling? i used to think it was egging people on, but in context to this post it would seem to be the spreading of false information via the internet. would that be correct?

[Winter_Born]

Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

Kieviel wrote:

Hi James,

I know we all signed an NDA at the Secrets of Golarion panel but Justin Franklin and I just wanted to say "Thanks" again for letting us in on how Aroden died. It's so simple that it's just brilliant.

My question is one that I didn't get to ask why at the panel. Is there any plan to investigate how the established Golarion 20 will react to these new Gods?

Thanks again.

Is this something that ACTUALLY happened, or are you just trolling the thread? Because if the former is true then I'm going to become even more frustrated in my attempts to completely understand the canon of the setting.

He's trolling, and this really isn't the thread to do it IMO. That NDA wouldn't last an hour.

[Kajehase]

That's not trolling - he's taking the Mickey out of the easily gullible in an entertaining fashion. There's a difference.

[ShoulderPatch]

*Rubs the magic lamp*
Oh great and mighty and tyrannosaurusly JJ

What do you think are Paizo's defining books (hardcover or softcover) respectively for covering the Mwangi Expanse and Varisia? Loved the stuff on Mwangi in the ISWG, and Varisia made me curious for more as well.

[AinvarG]

Sure looks like what my uncle called trolling when he was fishing - dropping a line overboard from the boat and slowly idling through the water, just to see what would bite. They tossed out bait to see who would bite.

And I did not find it entertaining in the least. This is a thread where people come for the facts. I hope the moderators clean the garbage out when they have time.

On topic: Knowing you are not a fan of conventions in general, what did you enjoy about GenCon this year? Was the award ceremony overwhelming?

[donato]

Good luck catching up, James.

[I Hate Nickelback]

In your opinion, was Unit 731 a horrible, evil abomination, or a legitimate, if perhaps distastefully executed, series of experiments?

If its relevant, I believe the latter.

[danielc]

How long does it take to get back into the normal swing of things after a major con like Gen-Con?

I know what it is like when I travel for work, but I am curious how it is for you.