Creative Director
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I have a question about invisibility. I know normally, I'd have to look to the rules section, but I've searched and it's apparently been asked before and FAQ and nothing has come of it. I feel that posting the question again wouldn't work. So I'm hoping you can at least help something I'm not quite clear on that I need for an upcoming session I am GMing.
For noticing an invisible creature [Core Rule Book page 563], it states that it is a DC 20 Perception check and that to pinpoint a creature, it is +20 to that. It also gives a table of modifiers for pinpointing, including one for if the creature is using Stealth. So my question is, how do I apply Stealth? Is it:
A) DC 20 + (20 for pinpointing) + (Stealth + 20)
or
B) Notice DC is replaced by the Stealth check, becoming DC (Stealth +20) + (20 for pinpointing)?
If you could answer this for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Alas, I'd rather not set the precedence that this thread is for asking questions that haven't yet been addressed by the rules team. In fact, folks asking those kinds of questions in the past, when I was answering them more frequently, is what caused a fair amount of controversy and confusion and problems, culminating in Ravingdork's "Paizo needs to get its house in order." I've since been asked by the rules team to not answer those questions... and when I do, I tend to phrase my answers as, "If I were your GM I would do this." But for the most part... rules questions like these really do need to be asked in the rules forums and FAQed.
Sorry if that isn't producing a fast enough reply for you... but it's the way it is.
I have a question about invisibility. I know normally, I'd have to look to the rules section, but I've searched and it's apparently been asked before and FAQ and nothing has come of it. I feel that posting the question again wouldn't work. So I'm hoping you can at least help something I'm not quite clear on that I need for an upcoming session I am GMing.
For noticing an invisible creature [Core Rule Book page 563], it states that it is a DC 20 Perception check and that to pinpoint a creature, it is +20 to that. It also gives a table of modifiers for pinpointing, including one for if the creature is using Stealth. So my question is, how do I apply Stealth? Is it:
A) DC 20 + (20 for pinpointing) + (Stealth + 20)
or
B) Notice DC is replaced by the Stealth check, becoming DC (Stealth +20) + (20 for pinpointing)?
If you could answer this for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Alas, I'd rather not set the precedence that this thread is for asking questions that haven't yet been addressed by the rules team. In fact, folks asking those kinds of questions in the past, when I was answering them more frequently, is what caused a fair amount of controversy and confusion and problems, culminating in Ravingdork's "Paizo needs to get its house in order." I've since been asked by the rules team to not answer those questions... and when I do, I tend to phrase my answers as, "If I were your GM I would do this." But for the most part... rules questions like these really do need to be asked in the rules forums and FAQed.
Sorry if that isn't producing a fast enough reply for you... but it's the way it is.
Don't the Invisibility spells answer this?
Dear James Jacobs
I submitted the following yesterday, just as a flurry of other questions came in, so I guess it got overlooked.
I've thoroughly enjoyed playing in the pathfinder setting in the last few years. I especially enjoy the level of detail given to the various religions and the setting mythology. Reading the mythology is like trying to solve a mystery novel to me. Please keep doing what you're doing, it's been great fun!
Okay, my questions, which are primarily about the Dragon Empires Gazeteer, it's deities, and their relationship to the western deities.
1. While some of the western deities are also worshipped in east by the same name (Pharasma, Shelyn, Desna, etc...) it also seems that some of the eastern deities and western deities are remarkably similar in personality. Enough so that they might actually be the same deity, under a different name. Specifically, I was wondering about the following east/west equivalencies:
Fumeiyoshi = Asmodeus
Shiziru = Sarenrae
Tsukiyo = Ihys
Kofusuchi = Caiden Caelean
Sun wukong= also Caiden Caelean?
Ya matsumi = Rovagug
2. I have a theory regarding the starstone. It seems to me, that the starstone and Ihys murder are related. My current working theory is that Ihys invested some of his personal power to create the starstone before he was murdered. Though I could also see the starstone being the actual remains of Ihys after Asmodeus killed him. Am I on the right track?
3. Given #2, Lao shu po's background sounds like a metaphor for a starstone test. Is this the case?
4. Given #2, and the notion that the starstone was pulled from the diaspora, which appears to have been created from the collision of two planets that occupied similar orbits, is there a metaphysical connection between deities, and celestial bodies? Perhaps a relationship that exists for the older deities only?
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Creative Director
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1. While some of the western deities are also worshipped in east by the same name (Pharasma, Shelyn, Desna, etc...) it also seems that some of the eastern deities and western deities are remarkably similar in personality. Enough so that they might actually be the same deity, under a different name. Specifically, I was wondering about the following east/west equivalencies:
Fumeiyoshi = Asmodeus
Shiziru = Sarenrae
Tsukiyo = Ihys
Kofusuchi = Caiden Caelean
Sun wukong= also Caiden Caelean?
Ya matsumi = Rovagug2. I have a theory regarding the starstone. It seems to me, that the starstone and Ihys murder are related. My current working theory is that Ihys invested some of his personal power to create the starstone before he was murdered. Though I could also see the starstone being the actual remains of Ihys after Asmodeus killed him. Am I on the right track?
3. Given #2, Lao shu po's background sounds like a metaphor for a starstone test. Is this the case?
4. Given #2, and the notion that the starstone was pulled from the diaspora, which appears to have been created from the collision of two planets that occupied similar orbits, is there a metaphysical connection between deities, and celestial bodies? Perhaps a relationship that exists for the older deities only?
1) Nope; they're not the same deity. They do have similar interests and themes, but that's mostly because those themes are so broad and common that they more or less require deities to cover them.
2) We've actually revealed a fair amount about the Starstone in "Mythic Realms." It does not involve Ihys.
3) Nope.
4) Nope.
As I'm reading through the various books and manuals, I often come across an illustration which is either unsigned, or the signature has been cropped or obscured. How do I find out which artist created a specific illustration?
So does a Person have to have mythic potential to pass the test of the Starstone?
I have a question about invisibility. I know normally, I'd have to look to the rules section, but I've searched and it's apparently been asked before and FAQ and nothing has come of it. I feel that posting the question again wouldn't work. So I'm hoping you can at least help something I'm not quite clear on that I need for an upcoming session I am GMing.
For noticing an invisible creature [Core Rule Book page 563], it states that it is a DC 20 Perception check and that to pinpoint a creature, it is +20 to that. It also gives a table of modifiers for pinpointing, including one for if the creature is using Stealth. So my question is, how do I apply Stealth? Is it:
A) DC 20 + (20 for pinpointing) + (Stealth + 20)
or
B) Notice DC is replaced by the Stealth check, becoming DC (Stealth +20) + (20 for pinpointing)?
If you could answer this for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Alas, I'd rather not set the precedence that this thread is for asking questions that haven't yet been addressed by the rules team. In fact, folks asking those kinds of questions in the past, when I was answering them more frequently, is what caused a fair amount of controversy and confusion and problems, culminating in Ravingdork's "Paizo needs to get its house in order." I've since been asked by the rules team to not answer those questions... and when I do, I tend to phrase my answers as, "If I were your GM I would do this." But for the most part... rules questions like these really do need to be asked in the rules forums and FAQed.
Sorry if that isn't producing a fast enough reply for you... but it's the way it is.
I'll try, but it seems the rules questions rarely get looked at these days.
Thanks anyways.
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Creative Director
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As I'm reading through the various books and manuals, I often come across an illustration which is either unsigned, or the signature has been cropped or obscured. How do I find out which artist created a specific illustration?
That's pretty difficult for someone out of Paizo to do, since often, that information is known only to the art staff, and they tend to not be as active on the boards. Sometimes the developer for the book can help though!
Were the same kinds of weapons and armor in use in the age of Thassilon and Azlant as are in current Golarion?
I do believe this is my new favorite thread!
And, to my questions...
What are good sources for lore concerning the dwarves of Golarion other than the book by the same name, race guides, or Inner Sea World Guide?
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Creative Director
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I do believe this is my new favorite thread!
And, to my questions...
What are good sources for lore concerning the dwarves of Golarion other than the book by the same name, race guides, or Inner Sea World Guide?
At this point, that's pretty much it. We haven't done an awful lot about dwarves. There's bits here and there; one of the dungeons in "Dungeons of Golarion" is a lost dwarven mine, for example.
How likely / unlikely would the redemption of Baalzebul be?
For some reason, I'd imagine him growing tired of Asmodeus and his ploys.
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I suppose there's no other way to ask this.
Where in Golarion could you say a character who uses Welsh naming conventions, like Pwyll or Blodeuwedd, could come from? Ulfen naming conventions are too Germanic, Kellid too guttural and consonant-heavy, and Taldan and its Chelaxian derivatives too Italian sounding.
Welsh mythology has such interesting names to draw on, and yet I can't find a place a character with such a name would hail from...
HA! I knew someone would hook me up! Exactly!Something to the tune of this?Same, except with glowing red eyes.You've gained your first Mythic Tier! Congratulations!
What does your Mythic Forum Avatar look like?
So if Mythic Adventures makes you a glowing-eyed Mythic T-Rex, does that mean after Bestiary 4 comes out we'll have to worry about you picking up tricks like this?
At this point, that's pretty much it. We haven't done an awful lot about dwarves. There's bits here and there; one of the dungeons in "Dungeons of Golarion" is a lost dwarven mine, for example.I do believe this is my new favorite thread!
And, to my questions...
What are good sources for lore concerning the dwarves of Golarion other than the book by the same name, race guides, or Inner Sea World Guide?
Hrm..that is disappointing. Are there any future plans to expand upon this in the future?
What was the inspiration for the design of Golarion from a geological standpoint?
I'm a fan of the RWBY series, but I just found out the design for the world Vytal was made based off ketchup smears on a nakepkin Monty Oum used at IHOP. This got me wondering how the shape of Golarion came about.
Any interesting trivia to share about it's design?
What was the inspiration for the design of Golarion from a geological standpoint?
I'm a fan of the RWBY series, but I just found out the design for the world Vytal was made based off ketchup smears on a nakepkin Monty Oum used at IHOP. This got me wondering how the shape of Golarion came about.
Any interesting trivia to share about it's design?
I think you mean geographical standpoint.
Reposting questions -
1) Is Seyltiel an homage to Elric?
2) While outsiders don't need to sleep, does an outsider still need to rest 8 hours to get its spell-like powers back? Probably yes...
3) After reading the Starstone entry in Mythic Realms... Does the moon have a really big hole in it where it failed to deflect the Starstone? I might be slightly confused as to what happened there.
4) Arazni can still grant spells. Would she have at least a small cult in Geb?
5) Were the Aboleths planning to destroy Golarion outright? It took the sacrifice of two gods just to reduce the Starstone Impact to causing the Age of Darkness.
James, where would want to live in Golarion and why? What would you do, adventure, commoner, or other?
Basically, if you were to make yourself as a character (fantasized of course, not exactly you in real life) what would it be. The James Jacobs AP, if you will.
A demigod OR a deity can be brought back from death via the normal rules.
...Does this mean we can True Resurrection Aroden?
Who makes the +1 Unholy swords and +1 Flaming whips for all those Balors?
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...Does this mean we can True Resurrection Aroden?
A demigod OR a deity can be brought back from death via the normal rules.
I guess that depends on whether or not Pharasma has already judged Aroden's soul or not, eh? >: )
Who makes the +1 Unholy swords and +1 Flaming whips for all those Balors?
Contract Devils. They only sell in bulk.
Did you hire an opening act for when you're hanging out in the green room?
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Creative Director
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How likely / unlikely would the redemption of Baalzebul be?
For some reason, I'd imagine him growing tired of Asmodeus and his ploys.
VERY VERY VERY VERY unlikely.
Remember, when we allow a big bad guy to get redeemed, we're basically firing him from being a bad guy. And we like our bad guys where they are, since that's what they were designed to be.
The one exception is if we design a bad guy to specifically be redeemed in a future product.
That's not the case here though. And until it happens... I won't say whether or not it's the case for anyone else! ;-)
Back in the 170's pages of this thread, there's a lot of Paladin talk and how then you weren't fond of having them in group.
Did you ever run a game or play in a game with a Paladin you really liked? Who played them and what was the personality like?
I love my Paladins and my GM is pretty easy on the Paladin Code. As PC's, we're always fighting for the greater good and we all like to play */G characters luckily.
Alas, I'd rather not set the precedence that this thread is for asking questions that haven't yet been addressed by the rules team. In fact, folks asking those kinds of questions in the past, when I was answering them more frequently, is what caused a fair amount of controversy and confusion and problems, culminating in Ravingdork's "Paizo needs to get its house in order." I've since been asked by the rules team to not answer those questions... and when I do, I tend to phrase my answers as, "If I were your GM I would do this." But for the most part... rules questions like these really do need to be asked in the rules forums and FAQed.
Sorry if that isn't producing a fast enough reply for you... but it's the way it is.
Altho I agree that this thread is not for that, I do disagree with the instigator there and even your rules team. People just have to learn that sometimes a quick off the cuff answer is better than an official answer that may never come. I loved your off the cuff answers, but I took them to be exactly that- RAI from the Creative Director not RAW from the Rules team. Of course to me, RAI trumps RAW.
I think the instigator did all of us a huge disservice by that thread.
Contributor
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I suppose there's no other way to ask this.
Where in Golarion could you say a character who uses Welsh naming conventions, like Pwyll or Blodeuwedd, could come from? Ulfen naming conventions are too Germanic, Kellid too guttural and consonant-heavy, and Taldan and its Chelaxian derivatives too Italian sounding.
Welsh mythology has such interesting names to draw on, and yet I can't find a place a character with such a name would hail from...
Not James, but... as I am Welsh, there are two vaguely Welsh names in Varisia. Kaer Maga contains the Welsh "caer, kaer," Castle or City, and Celwynvian, the Elvish city, has a Welsh "feel."
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Creative Director
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I suppose there's no other way to ask this.
Where in Golarion could you say a character who uses Welsh naming conventions, like Pwyll or Blodeuwedd, could come from? Ulfen naming conventions are too Germanic, Kellid too guttural and consonant-heavy, and Taldan and its Chelaxian derivatives too Italian sounding.
Welsh mythology has such interesting names to draw on, and yet I can't find a place a character with such a name would hail from...
We don't really have a region heavily inspired by Welsh tradition. This isn't an intentional slight or gap—merely the result of the fact that the Inner Sea region simply isn't large enough to contain all possible tropes and types of campaign areas.
Your best bet, in any case, is to perhaps have such a character come from Sarkoran traditions before that region was destroyed by the Worldwound. We've snuck a fair amount of Welsh and Celtic lore into that region's backstory. Not a perfect solution, but it's probably the best you can do unless you just want to make some changes to the world. Which it sounds like you're not interested in.
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Creative Director
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So if Mythic Adventures makes you a glowing-eyed Mythic T-Rex, does that mean after Bestiary 4 comes out we'll have to worry about you picking up tricks like this?HA! I knew someone would hook me up! Exactly!Something to the tune of this?Same, except with glowing red eyes.You've gained your first Mythic Tier! Congratulations!
What does your Mythic Forum Avatar look like?
Perhaps!
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Creative Director
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This is sort of a rules question, but I'm not sure how much, so I thought I'd ask it here, and if you think it should go to the rules forum instead, then fair enough:
Mythic Adventures allows a character to have a legendary item that can become an artifact over time (and with repeated upgrades to the ability). Is it possible for a character to create a mythic bond (or similar) with something that is already an artifact? For example, taking a minor artifact or major artifact as part of the Legendary Item path ability, and thus turning it into a more powerful artifact with the addition of abilities linked to a mythic character?
That's up to your GM. It kinda happens in Wrath of the Righteous with the weapon Radiance, though, so I'd say sure, as long as it supports the story.
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Creative Director
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Hrm..that is disappointing. Are there any future plans to expand upon this in the future?At this point, that's pretty much it. We haven't done an awful lot about dwarves. There's bits here and there; one of the dungeons in "Dungeons of Golarion" is a lost dwarven mine, for example.I do believe this is my new favorite thread!
And, to my questions...
What are good sources for lore concerning the dwarves of Golarion other than the book by the same name, race guides, or Inner Sea World Guide?
Nothing that we've publicly announced, and if there's something we haven't announced, I'm not gonna do so here! :-)
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Creative Director
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What was the inspiration for the design of Golarion from a geological standpoint?
I'm a fan of the RWBY series, but I just found out the design for the world Vytal was made based off ketchup smears on a nakepkin Monty Oum used at IHOP. This got me wondering how the shape of Golarion came about.
Any interesting trivia to share about it's design?
Jason and Erik built the map of the Inner Sea region, and while they did keep things like plate tectonics and such in mind, neither of them are geologists.
Which means that the inspiration was more of a "These shapes look neat and compelling on paper, and this mix of terrains makes for great adventure opportunities!"
Perhaps the funniest bit of trivia from that was that Erik's original map of the region was drawn out over several large sheets of graph paper that, when you laid them all out side by side to piece together the giant world map, resulted in a map that was shaped roughly like a "T". Which makes for a really difficult map to reproduce on a square piece of paper!
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Creative Director
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Reposting questions -
1) Is Seyltiel an homage to Elric?
2) While outsiders don't need to sleep, does an outsider still need to rest 8 hours to get its spell-like powers back? Probably yes...
3) After reading the Starstone entry in Mythic Realms... Does the moon have a really big hole in it where it failed to deflect the Starstone? I might be slightly confused as to what happened there.
4) Arazni can still grant spells. Would she have at least a small cult in Geb?
5) Were the Aboleths planning to destroy Golarion outright? It took the sacrifice of two gods just to reduce the Starstone Impact to causing the Age of Darkness.
1) Not intentionally, although I suspect that Wayne, who is a fan of Elric, put some homage in there on his own.
2) No. An outsider wizard would need to sleep to regain the ability to prepare spells, but to regain spell-like abilities, all an outsider (or ANY creature) needs to do is wait for a new day.
3) The moon may have a region of rough craters and mountains, but overall it recovered quite well from Earthfall. Remember, there was a LOT of divine magic going on at that point... more than enough to heal the moon back to its spherical shape. And what it didn't heal, 10,000 years helped a bit.
4) Yes.
5) They were planning on destroying humanity, but since they live on Golarion, they didn't want to destroy the planet. Scrubbing the surface world clean was more or less the goal.
Had some random and mayhaps obscure questions last night...not sure if I remember them all but hope you can help.
1) Bestiary 3 mentions the existence of Oni Daimyo as being the demigod overlords of Oni. Unlike other demigods (say, Demon Lords), the list of Daimyo has the type of oni in parantheses (Nuwa, etc). Does this mean Oni Daimyo are not unique creatures like demon lords, but rather are "regular" oni with class levels or mythic tiers, or some combination of the above?
2) In Golarion, there are a range of alignments for the Eldest, all of which are some flavor of neutral or evil. Are there any good Eldest, or the possibility of good Eldest if those beings are ever elaborated on and we get new ones?
3) Do mortals which are kidnapped by Kytons and forged into new Kytons skip Pharasma's judging? Bestiary 3 seems to imply yes, but not sure if I am interpreting it correctly. How does Pharasma view Kytons?
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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James, who are the responsible parties behind so many Bestiary 4 references found within Mythic Origins and Realms? Any way you convince them not to do so much name dropping with products not yet released?
Why no new Aroden tidbits seeded in either book?
I liked the reveals behind the Old Mage and the Shory. Tell everyone they are doing a bang up job!
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Creative Director
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I have two totally unrelated questions.
1: There's a lot of mind-controlling mold. We have the mindslaver mold from the First World (Land of the Linnorm Kings); Xhamen-Dor, who's spores turn their host into an undead slave; and whatever is infesting the island of Goroyasa in the Valashmai Jungle (Dragon Empire Gazeteer). Are any of these related, or are they each unique phenomena? There's also the vegepygmies and their Cyth-V'sug worshiping creators, but I'm not counting those because it's technically not mind-control.
2: In the Inner Sea Bestiary, we are given an example of a Daemonic Harbinger (Zelishkar), an Infernal Duke (Lorthact), and a Nascent Demon Lord (Jack the Nightripper). There's also a Qlippoth Lord (Yamasoth) in Beyond the Doomsday Door. Each is a demigod-level entity and each has unique traits corresponding to its race/rank. However, I'm a little confused by the "A [lord/duke/harbinger]'s natural and wielded weapons are treated as..." part.
-Nascent Demon Lord: Weapons are treated as chaotic, evil, and epic.
-Daemonic Harbinger: Weapons treated as evil and lawful.
-Infernal Duke: Weapons treated as evil and lawful.
-Qlippoth Lord: Weapons are treated as chaotic, evil, and epic.Now for my question: Why do only Qlippoth Lords and Nascent Demon Lords have "epic" weapons? Also, why do Daemonic Harbingers have lawful weapons? (I'm fairly certain the latter is a copy/paste error, because Zelishkar's domains are incorrectly noted as being the same as Lotharct's).
1) That's because I'm a fan of the idea of mind-controlling mold. I blame William Hope Hodgson and his excellent short story, "The Voice in the Night." Read that as a kid in elementary school and you'll be afraid of mind-controlling fungus for life. And if you get a job working in RPGs, you'll end up putting a lot of that stuff into your game.
2) You're seeing here what happens when different authors design different things. I did the demons and qlippoth, while the harbingers and infernal dukes were developed and designed by other people. It's basically a development error—those four traits SHOULD have been standardized so that all four include epic as part of it all. And the daemonic harbinger bit with lawful weapons looks like a copy/paste error to me.
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Creative Director
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James, where would want to live in Golarion and why? What would you do, adventure, commoner, or other?
Basically, if you were to make yourself as a character (fantasized of course, not exactly you in real life) what would it be. The James Jacobs AP, if you will.
Sandpoint, because it's the best place on Golarion. I'd be an adventurer/explorer/entertainer. Ameiko is, in fact, a pretty good indication of who I'd be in Sandpoint.
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Creative Director
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James, I know that Ultimate Combat's rules for primitive weapon materials really don't apply to the present day Inner Sea, but what were the primary metals (bronze, obsidian, steel, etc...) used by the various past civilizations like the Ghol-Ghon, Ancient Osirion etc?
Yes... but not so much as analogues in the real world.