Creative Director
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JAmes, do you a running list of sea and oceanic based dinosaurs? And can you share it?
As in, a list of prehistoric aquatic creatures I'd like to see statted up? I do, but it's not written down, and anyone can pretty much get the same list by spending a little time on Google searching for "prehistoric sea creatures." :-)
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Creative Director
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Hi James,
How many times in campaigns you've run has the adventure ended incredibly off course from where you originally planned?
Or are you usually successful when the PCs do something you hadn't even considered?
I'd say probably 15% of the time the adventure goes way off course from what I'd planned.
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Have you considered making a spider covered in armor spikes monster for an AP? It could then be made into a miniature and hidden throughout Jason's office. Just a thought.
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Creative Director
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Have you considered making a spider covered in armor spikes monster for an AP? It could then be made into a miniature and hidden throughout Jason's office. Just a thought.
I tend to avoid including things in an Adventure Path that are calculated to cater to messageboard controversies. The less of that in actual game play, the better.
Question regarding creatures from the Serpent's Skull AP. Are Eurypterids edible?
I think I'll try to repair it myself. Thanks, James.
Edit: On second thought, I might just return it.
Have you considered making a spider covered in armor spikes monster for an AP? It could then be made into a miniature and hidden throughout Jason's office. Just a thought.I tend to avoid including things in an Adventure Path that are calculated to cater to messageboard controversies. The less of that in actual game play, the better.
A Minautor with armor spikes?
I think that marrying your cohort is a cool idea! Although I think that it'd be even better for your spouse to be a "free" cohort you earn through game play. I guess in this case, Leadership is kinda like a mail-order bride?James,
How do you feel about a character with Leadership being in a relationship with or marrying their Cohort?
Well, in this situation it's not like the cohort was taken to become a wife; she was taken to help support the character and because he was getting well-known, and they've been working together for a while now. I wasn't sure if it would seem awkward if they ended up together.
So, quite recently, Paizo has released a ton of (super neat and cool) rules and systems for Pathfinder. Downtime, Kingdom building, and Mythic in particular. Going forward, are you going to revisit support for any of the optional systems (even ones not listed), or do you think are adequately covered?
You mentioned a while back that the most hilariously awesome classed and awakened animal would be a toad sorcerer with the Destined bloodline.
Let's go beyond that and make him an Archmage.
You should totally make one the boss of a comical module.
Is this still hilariously awesome?
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Creative Director
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So, quite recently, Paizo has released a ton of (super neat and cool) rules and systems for Pathfinder. Downtime, Kingdom building, and Mythic in particular. Going forward, are you going to revisit support for any of the optional systems (even ones not listed), or do you think are adequately covered?
Now and then, yes. For example, in the 2nd Wrath of the Righteous adventure we support Mass Combat... and in the 3rd one we've got some Downtime stuff.
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Creative Director
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You mentioned a while back that the most hilariously awesome classed and awakened animal would be a toad sorcerer with the Destined bloodline.
Let's go beyond that and make him an Archmage.
You should totally make one the boss of a comical module.
Is this still hilariously awesome?
I'd make that toad a trickster. Because, hey... who would have expected that?
Speaking of the Destined bloodline...
How does it work in Golarion?
Are the sorcerers just... confused all the time?
Now and then, yes. For example, in the 2nd Wrath of the Righteous adventure we support Mass Combat... and in the 3rd one we've got some Downtime stuff.
Now, I haven't had a chance to look at the 2nd WotR book yet. Are these merely featuring the system, or do they provide some new rules, too.
And expanding on the original question, would there be possibilities of more dedicated books to expand on these systems, like companion/campaign setting books?
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What kind of terrain in the exploration rule best represents badlands and if none of them do what would you suggest to do to represent that terrain type?Ummmm... what are we talking about here? Badlands is the best terrain to represent badlands...
To rephrase, in the exploration rules presented in Ultimate Campaign they present various terrains and how they affect travel and exploration in hexes composed primarily of that terrain type. Unfortunately we are not really given a badlands terrain type and I was wondering either what kind of changes a badlands terrain would have to travel and exploration as well as what kinds of natural hazards it could present? Barring that I was wondering which terrain type presented in UC might best match the trials and dangers of the badlands terrain?
What are the Top 5 things that you wish that Paizo had changed in the edition jump from 3.5 Pathfinder? No particular order is required.
What are the Top 5 things that you wish that Paizo had changed in the edition jump from 3.5 Pathfinder? No particular order is required.
IANJ but this question gets asked a lot and he usually responds with something like "All of the changes I wanted to make made it over, so none!"
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Creative Director
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Now and then, yes. For example, in the 2nd Wrath of the Righteous adventure we support Mass Combat... and in the 3rd one we've got some Downtime stuff.Now, I haven't had a chance to look at the 2nd WotR book yet. Are these merely featuring the system, or do they provide some new rules, too.
And expanding on the original question, would there be possibilities of more dedicated books to expand on these systems, like companion/campaign setting books?
Ah! I see... you're asking for expansions to the system.
When it makes sense, yeah, we'll do expansions. There's a new downtime option in book 3, for example. No new options in book 2.
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Creative Director
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To rephrase, in the exploration rules presented in Ultimate Campaign they present various terrains and how they affect travel and exploration in hexes composed primarily of that terrain type. Unfortunately we are not really given a badlands terrain type and I was wondering either what kind of changes a badlands terrain would have to travel and exploration as well as what kinds of natural hazards it could present? Barring that I was wondering which terrain type presented in UC might best match the trials and dangers of the badlands terrain?What kind of terrain in the exploration rule best represents badlands and if none of them do what would you suggest to do to represent that terrain type?Ummmm... what are we talking about here? Badlands is the best terrain to represent badlands...
Oh! Now it makes sense.
Badlands are equal to hills.
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Which nations have colonial interests in Arcadia? How developed ARE those interests?
Exploration-level, where they're just now discovering the previously unknown landmass making contact with the natives (Columbus)? Conquest-level, where they're engaged in war with the natives but have no real permanent bases yet (Conquistadors)? Survival-level, where they may have a stockade and are starting to establish themselves, but are still very much at the mercy of the land and relationships with the natives are either hostile or attempting to cooperate (Jamestown/Plymouth)? Or Civilized level, where there are established cities and potentially states that could become their own nation routinely sending goods back to their respective founders in Avistan (13 Colonies/French and Indian War/American Revolution)?
What climate are these colonies in, temperate zones? Tropical ones? Some combination thereof?
When will we see more exploration of Arcadia? I feel there's a wealth of potential stories we could play in it, just based on the history of European colonial interests in the Americas alone!
Do you think some spells are more or less effective depending on their source? I was rolling up a character when I decided to give him a +2 Headband of Intellect and put the skill bonus into Linguistics (granting him a buttload of new languages). It occurred to me, that this kind of represented fluency in each language, whereas spells like Tongue's, while useful, don't necessarily represent fluency.
Then I began thinking of Wish and how it can do more, depending on who casts it (Divine > Genie > Wizard > Item). I wondered if spells like Tongues operated the same way? For instance, an item that gave a constant Tongue effect, operated like an instant Google Translate (literal translations), while a Caster might be more like someone who took a language class (not literal meaning, but not fluency), while outsiders with Tongues might actually appear to have fluency in all languages.
hi James.
1) Have you seen the documentary Searching for Sugar Man?
2) Have you seen the video The Fox (by Ylvis)?
3) How would you rate Bestiary 4 compared to the other 3?
4) Top 5 favorite noncore PC races, if any?
5) Top 5 favorite D&D/Pathfinder monsters? Or top 10 if you are up to it ;)
6) Next Movie/Movies you are planning to see?
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Creative Director
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Which nations have colonial interests in Arcadia? How developed ARE those interests?
Exploration-level, where they're just now discovering the previously unknown landmass making contact with the natives (Columbus)? Conquest-level, where they're engaged in war with the natives but have no real permanent bases yet (Conquistadors)? Survival-level, where they may have a stockade and are starting to establish themselves, but are still very much at the mercy of the land and relationships with the natives are either hostile or attempting to cooperate (Jamestown/Plymouth)? Or Civilized level, where there are established cities and potentially states that could become their own nation routinely sending goods back to their respective founders in Avistan (13 Colonies/French and Indian War/American Revolution)?
What climate are these colonies in, temperate zones? Tropical ones? Some combination thereof?
When will we see more exploration of Arcadia? I feel there's a wealth of potential stories we could play in it, just based on the history of European colonial interests in the Americas alone!
At this point, I believe we've established that Cheliax, Taldor, and the Land of the Linnorm Kings have colonial interests in Arcadia, but they're not super developed yet. Complicating that fact is that Arcadia isn't an empty wilderness... there's already a LOT of societies living there... so an aggressive colonization attempt would pretty much be open war against the Arcadian nations.
That said... we haven't said much more about that at all. I'd love to do more exploration of Arcadia someday though!
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Creative Director
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Do you think some spells are more or less effective depending on their source? I was rolling up a character when I decided to give him a +2 Headband of Intellect and put the skill bonus into Linguistics (granting him a buttload of new languages). It occurred to me, that this kind of represented fluency in each language, whereas spells like Tongue's, while useful, don't necessarily represent fluency.
Then I began thinking of Wish and how it can do more, depending on who casts it (Divine > Genie > Wizard > Item). I wondered if spells like Tongues operated the same way? For instance, an item that gave a constant Tongue effect, operated like an instant Google Translate (literal translations), while a Caster might be more like someone who took a language class (not literal meaning, but not fluency), while outsiders with Tongues might actually appear to have fluency in all languages.
Yup!
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Creative Director
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Prophecy is not the same as destiny. It's very different.Speaking of the Destined bloodline...
How does it work in Golarion?
Are the sorcerers just... confused all the time?
Would you say that sorcerers of the Destined bloodline are likely to have mythic potential, even if it never actualises itself?
Additionally, when setting the CR of spellcasting enemies, does their having permanent spells in place normally provide an alteration to it? Or is it more often factored into either their wealth/equipment or the challenge they already pose from their levels in spellcasting classes?
Nope; no one class combination should be "more likely" to become mythic. Class options aren't what decide if you're mythic potential.
Permanent spells, as in those achieved via the spell permanency, do not impact CR any more than a spellcaster having any other spell would impact it.
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Creative Director
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hi James.
1) Have you seen the documentary Searching for Sugar Man?
2) Have you seen the video The Fox (by Ylvis)?
3) How would you rate Bestiary 4 compared to the other 3?
4) Top 5 favorite noncore PC races, if any?
5) Top 5 favorite D&D/Pathfinder monsters? Or top 10 if you are up to it ;)
6) Next Movie/Movies you are planning to see?
1) I have not.
2) I have not.
3) All are super awesome... but Bestiary 4 is the only one that has Cthulhu on the cover. Make of that what you will.
4) Tiefling, aasimar, samsaran, tengu, drow.
5) Froghemoth, succubus, intellect devourer, goblin, aboleth, neh-thalggu, lich, harpy, nabasu, and glabrezu.
6) Prisoners (theater), Kon-Tiki (disc), American Mary (streaming)
6) Prisoners (theater), Kon-Tiki (disc), American Mary (streaming)
I just caught Kon-Tiki a few weeks ago. It was a really interesting documentary. I highly recommend it. I can't say anything on the 2012 dramatization, though.
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Creative Director
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Hey James, one of my players was wondering, will the new "Blood of the Moon" book coming out next month allow him to play a gnome werebear?You can already do that. You just need your GM's permission. "Blood of the Moon" will have some more options for all lycanthropes... but it won't change the fact that you still need the GM to say yes.
Furthermore... the focus of "Blood of the Moon" is on the various skinwalker races, which are less powerful versions of full lycanthropes that, unlike lycanthropes, are designed as zero-HD races.
How do skinwalkers compare with Eberron's shifters? Both are sort-of lycanthrope-lite so comparisons are going to be coming up.
Although I have confidence that skinwalkers won't get shafted on the artwork front (seriously; there's official art of a female shifter, her face looked like Mel Gibson's).
I don't actually remember much of Eberron's shifters, to be honest, so I can't say. I can say this—skinwalkers are based on real-world mythology so that gives them heft in the same way that an elf or a dwarf or a gnome or a tengu has, which is a step up over purely made-up races like shifters, in my opinion. Furthermore, skinwalkers are treated kinda like tieflings and aasimars, where your specific lycanthropic heritage makes differences in your appearance and abilities and personality.
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Creative Director
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Permanent spells, as in those achieved via the spell permanency, do not impact CR any more than a spellcaster having any other spell would impact it.What about the use of artifacts? Do they count for a specific amount of a character's wealth, or are they included separately depending on the artifact and what it can do for the character?
Additionally, would the same apply to the transcendent artifacts introduced in Mythic Origins? Specifically, the ones that can grant mythic tiers to a user as long as the owner meets certain criteria depending on the artifact. Since they're providing mythic tiers, they would seem to add more than a regular artifact would.
(The sample artifact for that is from Erastil, bracers of the hunt that grant two champion tiers to the user. What would you say a transcendent artifact of Calistria would be likely to take the form of, and what paths/path abilities seem probable?)
Artifacts are generally "add ons." They don't increase the GP you gain from an adventure, nor do they generally increase a creature's CR. They're very story based, and they exist in an adventure for story purposes to allow the adventure's plot to proceed. In some cases, I do ad hoc increase an NPCs CR due to artifacts, but FAR more often, the artifact actually does the work of increasing an NPC's CR to what it should be according to Table 1–1 in the bestiary. Usually, if you just build an NPC and don't outfit them with the right gear, their numbers fall quite short of the expected CR values, and giving them artifacts at the high levels where this disparity is the most blatant is a great way to shore up the gaps.
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Creative Director
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6) Prisoners (theater), Kon-Tiki (disc), American Mary (streaming)I just caught Kon-Tiki a few weeks ago. It was a really interesting documentary. I highly recommend it. I can't say anything on the 2012 dramatization, though.
I read the book (more than once) as a kid and have been interested in the story for decades... I'm really looking forward to the dramatization. It looks really cool!
There is no "worst thing." Anything I can come up with can be equaled by anything else. Up to and including "Rovagug getting out." So I can't really answer the question. I could say: The world freezing solid as a result of the failing of the heroes in the Reign of Winter AP" but then what about a second Earthfall? Or the Worldwound exploding throughout the world? Or a massive solar flare cooking the planet? There's no shortage of "worst things."
Should we be worried by the massive amount of horrible things you seem to have planned for us?
I will be curious to hear your reactions on American Mary...
I did find a delicious substitute—a similar sauce that is made pretty much ONLY out of olive oil, garlic, salt, and that's about it. VERY low calorie spread, and very delicious. How's that for an unnecessarily detailed answer?
I'm sure my mother would love to hear what you found since she loves turkey and also eating healthier. Also, I too have started to dislike Mayo after a childhood of smathering it on everything.
So can you divulge the name of this spread?
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Creative Director
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There is no "worst thing." Anything I can come up with can be equaled by anything else. Up to and including "Rovagug getting out." So I can't really answer the question. I could say: The world freezing solid as a result of the failing of the heroes in the Reign of Winter AP" but then what about a second Earthfall? Or the Worldwound exploding throughout the world? Or a massive solar flare cooking the planet? There's no shortage of "worst things."Should we be worried by the massive amount of horrible things you seem to have planned for us?
Probably.
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Creative Director
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I did find a delicious substitute—a similar sauce that is made pretty much ONLY out of olive oil, garlic, salt, and that's about it. VERY low calorie spread, and very delicious. How's that for an unnecessarily detailed answer?I'm sure my mother would love to hear what you found since she loves turkey and also eating healthier. Also, I too have started to dislike Mayo after a childhood of smathering it on everything.
So can you divulge the name of this spread?
Not off the top of my head, but I'll look into it. Whole Foods sells it so it's PROBABLY not just a local thing...
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Creative Director
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Your thoughts?
Bleh.
The thing I like the most about Jurassic Park is that it's not dinosaurs for kids. It's dinosaurs for grown-ups.
Don't get me wrong... I LOVE that there's lots of dinosaur for kids stuff. I was a kid once, and dinosaurs were huge to me, so it's cool that there continues to be kid options for dinosaurs.
But I'm a grown up now and I want grown up dinosaurs too!