Creative Director
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Just wanted to let you know that I picked up my paperback copy of A Dance with Dragons this morning...it's finally here! I suppose that means that once you've got yours, we won't be hearing from you for a day or two.
I bought that in hardcover the day it came out long ago and read it voraciously already. I don't need no silly softcover! :P
Dear Magnanimous King Tyrant Lizard,
1) How would you characterize attitudes towards slavery on Golarion?
2) If you were running a game, would you require that a slave-owning PC be of an evil alignment?
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The real world origin of Orvian is my homebrew campaign; I invented it about 20 years ago to be the language of a race of half-living clear-skinned vampiric creatures called Urdefhans who were led by a powerful necromancer named Nocticula. When I transplanted them into the Darklands, they became daemon worshipers instead of demon worshipers, and I had the language become a sort of "Deep Underdark" common.
When will we see more of these Urdefhans?
The Mindscape of H.P. Lovecraft
I figured this illustration by Lukas Thelin might interest you.
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Creative Director
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Dear Magnanimous King Tyrant Lizard,
1) How would you characterize attitudes towards slavery on Golarion?
2) If you were running a game, would you require that a slave-owning PC be of an evil alignment?
1) Depends entirely on the region. In Andoran, it's abhored. In Katapesh, it's huge business. And so on.
2) No, but I wouldn't let them be good for long.
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Creative Director
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I thought this was only a joke from the Colbert Report, but Amazon does seem to have opened up a new sub-genre callled Dinosaur Erotica, featuring such titles as "Taken by a T-Rex".
So some new additions to your reading list perhaps?
Heh... yeah, I've seen those books start popping up all over the internet...
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Creative Director
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When will we see more of these Urdefhans?
The real world origin of Orvian is my homebrew campaign; I invented it about 20 years ago to be the language of a race of half-living clear-skinned vampiric creatures called Urdefhans who were led by a powerful necromancer named Nocticula. When I transplanted them into the Darklands, they became daemon worshipers instead of demon worshipers, and I had the language become a sort of "Deep Underdark" common.
There's a fair amount in "Into the Darklands," in Book of the Damned III, in the penultimate Serpent's Skull adventure, and in a few other adventures here and there as well. Some day I'd love to do more with them...
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Creative Director
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So any truth to the rumor that you're authoring that book from personal experience? :)Heh... yeah, I've seen those books start popping up all over the internet...I thought this was only a joke from the Colbert Report, but Amazon does seem to have opened up a new sub-genre callled Dinosaur Erotica, featuring such titles as "Taken by a T-Rex".
So some new additions to your reading list perhaps?
Nope; no truth at all. Although I bet whoever did write that book is making MOUNTAINS of money... Hmmmmmmm...
When you're planning a new campaign as a GM, do you get antsy when your players don't have their players planned out yet? I have one who's on top of everything, even sent me all his stats, the other two all I've heard is their class.
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Creative Director
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When you're planning a new campaign as a GM, do you get antsy when your players don't have their players planned out yet? I have one who's on top of everything, even sent me all his stats, the other two all I've heard is their class.
I used to, but not any more. At this point, if a player doesn't do much with their character, that just means they get less out of the campaign.
Do you expect what you say to ripple into answering other conundrums, or are you not aware of your wisdom?
Also... when you hit him, candy doesn't come out. Only gall bladders and punches do. So it's not as fun.
Ummm...has this been tested, or is it just speculation? Because it sounds like voice of experience.
Can Empower Spell take damage beyond a spell's normal maximum? For instance, if you rolled all 6's on an Empowered Fireball.
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Creative Director
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Do you expect what you say to ripple into answering other conundrums, or are you not aware of your wisdom?
I do have to be careful how I answer stuff, yeah, since it's apparently hard for some folks to distinguish between me answering for me and me answering for Paizo. That's why I've ramped back so significantly in the last several months on answering hard and deep rules questions. Not that I can't... just that it confuses some folks to have more than one person answer questions, I suppose.
So... Maximized + Empowered would be the ultimate in "screw you"?
So... Maximized + Empowered would be the ultimate in "screw you"?
Metamagic feats apply separately to the base spell. so a maximized empowered fireball at 10d6 would do 60(maximized)+5d6(empowered) in effect.
When you're planning a new campaign as a GM, do you get antsy when your players don't have their players planned out yet? I have one who's on top of everything, even sent me all his stats, the other two all I've heard is their class.I used to, but not any more. At this point, if a player doesn't do much with their character, that just means they get less out of the campaign.
Do you sometime find things hard to understand when people use 'players' instead of 'player characters'/'PC'?
For some reasons, I think I asked this before...
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Creative Director
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I'm reading Mythic Realms at the moment and have a question about Zutha. From what I remember, maybe in this thread, it was said that he was either a low or mid range (I can't remember which) runelord. I'm guessing he somewhere around 20th level along with being some type of unique undead. In the section on the Cenotaph he's stated to have been "the greatest necromancer to grace Golarion's surface until Tar-Baphon himself".
Does this mean that Zutha was a more powerful person than Geb? From their feats in the setting and things that have been stated before I wouldn't think so. So is something where he really was more powerful than we, or at least I, have been lead to believe, an issue where the author of that section used a bit of puffery or just simply overlooked Geb, or an issue where in the school of Necromancy he was more powerful but not overall? (Although given Geb's necromantic feats the latter also seems like a stretch.)
I'm also assuming that the book and most Pathfinder material is written from a "word of God" type of narration by the authors and usually it is not just how people in the setting see things. Is that also correct?
There's a little bit of hyperbole there, alas... Zutha was the 4th most powerful runelord at the time of Earthfall. He was likely about as powerful as Karzoug... maybe one level lower but with the added bonus of the lich template.
And as a general rule, all our campaign setting books are written from a "word of god" narration. We're speaking to the GMs who run games in Golarion, after all, not the player characters.
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Creative Director
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When you're planning a new campaign as a GM, do you get antsy when your players don't have their players planned out yet? I have one who's on top of everything, even sent me all his stats, the other two all I've heard is their class.I used to, but not any more. At this point, if a player doesn't do much with their character, that just means they get less out of the campaign.Do you sometime find things hard to understand when people use 'players' instead of 'player characters'/'PC'?
For some reasons, I think I asked this before...
No, but it often amuses me.
Do you remember what your first D&D gaming session was like?
Sorry if this has been asked before!
So... Maximized + Empowered would be the ultimate in "screw you"?Not the ultimate, but certainly up there.
If you're looking for the most damage possible, and not just the most disabling feat combo, you're going to want an Empowered, Intensified, Maximized spell. Intensify spell gives up to an additional 5d6 damage dice on spells that have their damage scale with their level, but you still need the caster level high enough for it. For example, an Intensified Fireball would deal 15d6 at 15th level (and be capped there). An intensified, Maximized Fireball would deal 90 points of damage, and an Intensified, Maximized, Empowered Fireball would deal 90 + 7d6 points of damage.
Keep in mind, an Empowered, Intensified, Maximized Fireball requires a 9th level spell slot, unless you use some of the metamagic reduction tricks (Metamagic Rod, Universal Wizard, Arcane Sorcerer Bloodline, Magical Lineage trait etc).
Or that one Metamastery mythic path ability.
Mr. Jacobs, what is your opinion on kobolds? They are my all-time favorite PF/DnD race, and I'd love to be able to play one.
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Creative Director
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Do you remember what your first D&D gaming session was like?
Sorry if this has been asked before!
That would have been back in 5th grade, when my teacher organized the entire class into several groups and ran each group through a dungeon of his design during sequential lunch breaks. He'd run us through an encounter, and until someone in the group wrote it up as a short story, the whole group couldn't go on to the next room. And all the groups were in a competition to find the "power sword" at the end of the dungeon, so it was something of a race.
I'm happy to report that not only did my group win the race... but I'm the one who managed to bring the sword back to the king in the end!
Anyway... our first encounter was with a dryad who lived in a door, if I remember correctly... not sure though.
Also: A brilliant way to get 5th graders eager to write. I was already eager to write, though, so my group had a ringer...
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Creative Director
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So... Maximized + Empowered would be the ultimate in "screw you"?Not the ultimate, but certainly up there.If you're looking for the most damage possible, and not just the most disabling feat combo, you're going to want an Empowered, Intensified, Maximized spell. Intensify spell gives up to an additional 5d6 damage dice on spells that have their damage scale with their level, but you still need the caster level high enough for it. For example, an Intensified Fireball would deal 15d6 at 15th level (and be capped there). An intensified, Maximized Fireball would deal 90 points of damage, and an Intensified, Maximized, Empowered Fireball would deal 90 + 7d6 points of damage.
Keep in mind, an Empowered, Intensified, Maximized Fireball requires a 9th level spell slot, unless you use some of the metamagic reduction tricks (Metamagic Rod, Universal Wizard, Arcane Sorcerer Bloodline, Magical Lineage trait etc).
I'm not looking for the most damage possible at all. That's not really what interests me about RPGs.
In any event, let's keep the thread to questions, please.
James, this is probably a stupid question, but I haven't bought Bestiary 4 yet.
Do the Empyreal Lords featured have listed domains?
What is your opinion on the Atropal?
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Creative Director
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James,
which hellknight's orders are more player friendly?
That really depends on the nature of the campaign. They're ALL player friendly given the right circumstances. But in general the ones that drift more toward evil work better as bad guys. Which is which? I don't know off the top of my head, but Wes would!
Say a character has Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, wields a rapier in his main hand and dagger in his off, and has at least 2 levels in the Duelist PrC.
If he full-attacks (taking TWF penalties as normal), but chooses to not actually take his off-hand attacks in order to save them for his Parry ability, may he still add his Duelist level to the damage roll with his rapier?
EDIT: added "with his rapier"
What is your opinion on the Atropal?Cool concept! One of the better monsters from the Epic Level Handbook.
Do you have any desire to bring it into Pathfinder? That seems like prime material for Mythic adventures.
That depends entirely on the other world, and would have to be chosen by the creator of that world as they felt would be best represented.Mr. James Jacobs,
Which of golarion deities and outsider demigods would you say are more likely to be worshiped on other prime material worlds?
Okay, a couple of questions here.
1. Turning The NPC's inquiry around a bit (and apologizing if it's come up before; I couldn't find it in the thread), are any deities from other prime material worlds worshiped on Golarion, or would this be up to the GM? I'm a pagan in Real Life, so it would impact which character classes I could play.2. Given the problems poor JE is having with bedbugs, do they have to show up on Golarion? Sometimes Real Life is just too damned real.
@Archpaladin Zousha -
My brother takes issue with this statement. He plays romantic stuff on his bagpipes all the time. :P
How much luck does he have getting dates?
Hi james just wanted to give a book update..just got my current box of goodies from amazon..being that you are a lovecraft/howard fan..was wondering if you have heard of
"a means to freedom" the letters of lovecraft and robert howard..its a two volume set the first one covers 1930-1932 and the second 1933-1936..the set so far is amazing.....
while on the subject of books what current book are you reading
Yes.James, this is probably a stupid question, but I haven't bought Bestiary 4 yet.
Do the Empyreal Lords featured have listed domains?
I predict a lot of people playing paladins of the LG one.
I'm guessing there's one for each good alignment.